Difference Between Network Operating System and Distributed Operating System

Network Operating System falls under the category of Distributed architectures where a large number of computer systems are connected with each other with the help of a network. Although the implementation of the network operating system is simpler than the distributed operating system. The network operating system and distributed operating system are distinguished by the characteristics they are having, such as the in network operating system each system runs its own operating system while the distributed operating system runs a global system-wide operating system.

Content: Network Operating System Vs Distributed Operating System

1. 1. Comparison Chart
   2. Definition
   3. Key Differences
   4. Conclusion

Comparison Chart

Basis for comparison	Network Operating System	Distributed Operating System
Objective	Provision of local services to the remote client.	Management of hardware resource.
Use	Loosely coupled system employed in heterogeneous computers.	Tightly coupled system used in multiprocessor and homogeneous computers.
Architecture	2-tier client/server architecture.	N-tier client/server architecture.
Level of transparency	Low	High
Basis for communication	Files	Shared memory and messages
Resource Management	Handled at each node.	Global central or distributed management.
Ease of implementation	High	Low
Scalability	More	Less or moderate.
Openness	Open	Closed
Operating system on all nodes	Can be different	Same
Rate of autonomy	High	Low
Fault tolerance	Less	High

Definition of Network operating system

The network operating system is the platform to run a system software on a server and allow the server to manage the users, data, groups, security, applications and other networking functions. It is considered as the primary form of an operating system for the distributed architecture. The idea behind the network operating system is to permit resource sharing among two or more computers operating under their own OSs. The functioning of the network operating system can be explained by the diagram depicted below.Here the network OS layer present between the kernel of the local OS and user processes. Essentially the processes interact with the network OS layer instead of the kernel of the local operating system. When the process demand for the non-local resources, the network OS layer communicates to the network OS layer of the node that contains the resource and employs the access to the resource by using it. On the other way, if the process request for the local resource, the network OS layer sends the request to the local OS kernel.

Unlike the distributed operating system, the network operating system does not work in a collaborated way. The local operating system residing in each particular computer preserves its identity which is visible to users too and behaves as a solitary operating system. In some implementations, there is a remote login for the remote operating systems to access the resources. A network operating system cannot control the utilisation of resources which causes the improper distribution of the resources. There is no provision of fault tolerance in the network operating system.

Definition of Distributed operating system

The distributed operating system handles a group of independent computers and makes them look like an ordinary centralised operating system. This is achieved by enabling the proper communication between the different computers connected with each other. The main aim of the distributed operating system is the transparency where the use of multiple hardware resources is hidden from the users. The distributed operating system is less autonomous than network operating system as the system has complete control in this environment. It dynamically allocates processes to the random CPU and the files storage is also managed by the operating system which means that the user would not know which hardware has been used for the processing of its computation and for storing its file.

As it is mentioned above the distributed operating system allows resource sharing in which an application can use resources located in any computer system. It provides the availability (continuity of the services) rather than faults. A distributed operating system handles the operation of all nodes in the system in an integrated way since each node has its separate kernel to perform control functions on its behalf. It also increases the computational speed by executing the parts of computation in different computer systems.

Conclusion

The prior difference between network operating system and distributed operating system lies within their implementation wherein network operating system there is no modification or changes are applied to the core system while in the distributed operating system the system components can be subjected to upgradation if required.