Advantages of Distributed Systems

• Performance:
  Very often a collection of processors can provide higher performance (and better price/performance ratio) than a centralized computer.
  
  
• Distribution:
  Many applications involve, by their nature, spatially separated machines (banking, commercial, automotive system).
  
  
• Reliability (fault tolerance): 
  If some of the machines crash, the system can survive.
  
  
• Incremental growth: 
  As requirements on processing power grow, new machines can be added incrementally.
  
  
• Sharing of data/resources:
  Shared data is essential to many applications banking, computer supported cooperative work, reservation systems); other resources can be also shared (e.g. expensive printers).
  
  
• Communication: 
  Facilitates human-to-human communication.