Distributed Environment

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Discussion

A Distributed Environment is an Infrastructure Environment whose components, resources, services, or operational functions span multiple networked Nodes or locations.

The distribution can involve:

Compute resourcesStorage resourcesNetwork resourcesSoftware componentsServicesDataProcessingManagement functionsOperational responsibilitiesThe participating Nodes or locations cooperate to provide the behavior of the environment.

A Distributed Environment can span multiple:

Geographic locationsData centersCloud regionsEdge locationsNetwork zonesDeployment TargetsSecurity DomainsConnected, disconnected, or intermittently connected network segmentsA Distributed Environment differs from a Distributed System:

A Distributed Environment describes the infrastructure, resources, services, and operational context distributed across Nodes or locationsA Distributed System describes coordinated system behavior allocated across multiple networked NodesA Distributed Environment can host one or more Centralized Systems, Distributed Systems, or combinations of both.

A Distributed Environment also differs from a Distributed Network Topology:

A Distributed Environment describes the complete operational environmentA Distributed Network Topology describes the arrangement and interconnection of its network NodesA Distributed Environment can operate under Centralized Management even though its resources and functions remain distributed.

Definition

infrastructure environment whose components, resources, services, or operational functions span multiple networked Nodes or locations

Source

DIDO Reference Architecture, Network Topology TaxonomyDido Solutions, Inc. and Jackrabbit Consulting, Inc.

Note

A Distributed Environment does not require:

Every Node to perform the same functionEvery Node to hold the same dataDirect communication between every pair of NodesEqual authority among NodesOne specific network topologyOne specific management modelThe governing architecture determines:

Node rolesResource allocationService placementData placementCommunication pathsManagement authoritySecurity boundariesFailure-handling behaviorConnectivity requirementsPhysical separation alone does not establish a Distributed Environment. The separated components, resources, services, or operational functions form one environment through defined relationships and coordinated operation.

The term does not prescribe cloud computing, peer-to-peer communication, consensus algorithms, distributed ledgers, containers, virtual machines, or a particular network protocol.

Example

An Infrastructure Environment contains compute resources in two data centers, storage resources in a cloud region, and validation services at an edge location.

The resources and services cooperate as one managed environment. Crucible performs Centralized Management of the Distributed Environment while its infrastructure remains distributed across the participating locations.

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