ITPEC IP April 2023 Question 15

The same application runs on several computers so processing is not concentrated in one — that is horizontal load distribution.

The figure splits distributed processing along two lines. Horizontal means the computers are peers on the same level; vertical means they form a hierarchy. Function distribution gives each computer a different job; load distribution shares the same job among computers. Horizontal load distribution is therefore peers running the same application and sharing its volume, as when several identical web servers split the incoming requests. The four options match the four leaves of the figure.

Answer (d)

Why not others:

• •(a) — clients handle input and display while the server does the processing: different functions at different levels, vertical function distribution (client/server)
• •(b) — dedicated print and mail servers beside the application computer: different functions on computers of equal rank, horizontal function distribution
• •(c) — branch computers process their own sales data and the headquarters computer processes the collected results: one business shared across the levels of a hierarchy, vertical load distribution

Key rule: Horizontal or vertical says whether the computers are peers or a hierarchy; function or load says whether they do different jobs or share the same one.

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