Distributed systems are a sort of software environment or computer system in which various components are distributed among multiple computing devices (or other devices) through the INTERNET. These networks divide and coordinate the work so that it MAY be accomplished more quickly than if one computer or device handled everything alone. It simply implies "distributed" as opposed to "centralised" or having a single point of contact for all communications and processing amongst computing equipment. Distributed file systems, for example, allow computer applications to see SEVERAL physical storage devices, such as disc drives, as a single huge storage resource. ALTHOUGH the distributed operating system handles different resources, it appears to users as a single entity with its own namespace (e.g., files are given names independent of their location). By utilising dispersed resources to increase data locality, distributed systems have the potential to achieve excellent performance and availability. Because it provides concurrent processing capacity of all computers involved, distributed computing allows us to attain larger scalability than a single computer could, offering redundancy against equipment failures or scheduled maintenance downtime. A distributed architecture usually entails distribution across physical HARDWARE, which is more complicated but has advantages over sharing a single large server, such as the ability to use specialised hardware designed to improve computational efficiency, reliability, and fault tolerance while also allowing applications to use computing resources located close together (reducing latency).

The following are some of the most common distributed system examples:

• A Distributed System is exemplified by the telephone system and cellular networks.
• The World Wide Web is another distributed system that allows people to connect with one another via computers all over the world, creating a virtual community in which anything can happen.
• Computation in parallel is an example of a Distributed System.
• Aircraft control systems use similar ideas, combining data from multiple sources to tell planes not only where they're heading but also how fast or slow they should fly based on wind conditions and other factors.
• BitTorrent and other peer-to-peer networking apps (for downloading).