Flashcards - Computer Systems Week 11 Study Set
What is an embedded system?
An embedded system is a computer system designed to perform one or a few dedicated functions often with real-time computing constraints.
What is the primary difference between embedded systems and general-purpose computers?
Embedded systems are designed for specific tasks, whereas general-purpose computers are flexible and can handle a wide range of tasks.
What is pervasive computing?
Pervasive computing refers to the integration of computing devices into everyday objects and environments.
What are the three forms of interaction in pervasive computing?
Active, Passive, and Coercive interactions.
Give an example of a medical application using pervasive computing.
A system that analyses sensor data from medication and delivers reminders.
What characterizes a small computer type?
Small computers tend to be less powerful and less expensive.
Define distributed computing.
Distributed computing involves a cooperative collection of networks and servers.
What is the function of a server?
A server stores applications and data files for all workstations on a network.
What is batch processing in server applications?
Batch processing refers to performing long compute-intensive jobs without direct interaction with users, typically run overnight.
Differentiate between thin clients and fat clients.
Thin clients are less powerful machines that depend heavily on servers, while fat clients are more powerful and depend less on servers.
What is the role of a firewall?
A firewall acts as a security filter to control access between external networks and internal computer facilities.
Explain the client-server model.
In the client-server model, a client requests services or data from a server, which responds with the requested information.
What is the difference between client-server and peer-to-peer (P2P) models?
Client-server uses servers to provide services, while P2P does not rely on servers for core functionality and allows nodes to act as both clients and servers.
What is a mainframe computer?
A mainframe computer serves thousands of users and is characterized by vast amounts of RAM and disk storage.
What distinguishes a supercomputer?
A supercomputer is the fastest type of computer, equipped with massive processing power and used for computationally intensive tasks.
What are typical applications that use supercomputers?
Supercomputers are often used for tasks like quantum mechanical physics, weather forecasting, and climate research.
What does the term ‘Exascale’ refer to in supercomputing?
Exascale refers to a performance goal of greater than 10^18 floating point operations per second.
What are benchmarks in supercomputing?
Benchmarks are problem statements run on computer systems to test performance.
What is the metric used for measuring the performance of supercomputers?
Performance is often measured in floating point operations (flops).
Why is Linux significant in supercomputing?
Linux is used in all of the top 500 supercomputers, dominating the performance computing sector.
