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A '''Distributed operating system''' is the logical aggregation of [[operating system]] software over a collection of independent, [[Computer network|networked]], [[Inter-process communication|communicating]], and spatially disseminated computational nodes.<ref name="LSF">Tanenbaum, Andrew S. 1993 Distributed operating systems anno 1992. What have we learned so far? Distributed Systems Engineering, 1, 1 (1993), 3-10</ref> Individual system nodes each hold a discrete software subset of the global aggregate operating system. Each node-level software subset is a composition of two distinct provisioners of services.<ref name="CDS">Nutt, G. J. 1992 Centralized and Distributed Operating Systems. Prentice Hall Press.</ref>
The first is a ubiquitous minimal [[Kernel (computing)|kernel]], or [[microkernel]], situated directly above each node’s hardware. The kernelmicrokernel provides allonly the necessary mechanisms for a node's functionality. Second, is a higher-level collection of '''system management components''', providing all necessary policies for a node's individual and collaborative activities. This collection of management components exists immediately above the microkernel, and below any user applications or APIs that might reside at higher levels.<ref name="TLD">Distributed Operating Systems: The Logical Design, 1st edition Goscinski, A. 1991 Distributed Operating Systems: the Logical Design. 1st. Addison-Wesley Longman Publishing Co., Inc.</ref>
These two entities, the kernelmicrokernel and the management components collection, work together, They support the global system’s goal of seamlessly integrating all network-connected resources and processing functionality into an efficient, available, and unified system.<ref name="DCT">Fortier, P. J. 1986 Design of Distributed Operating Systems: Concepts and Technology. Intertext Publications, Inc., McGraw-Hill, Inc.</ref> This seamless integration of individual nodes into a global system is referred to as '''transparency''', or '''Single system image'''; describing the illusion provided to users of the global system’s appearance as a singlesingular and local computational entity.
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