Collaborative Computing

Collaborative Computing

Also called cooperative computing, collaborative computing enables computers in a distributed computing environment to share processing power in addition to data, resources, and services. In a collaborative computing environment, one computer might “borrow” processing power by running a program on other computers on the network. Or, processes might be designed so that they can run on two or more computers. Obviously, collaborative computing cannot take place without a network to enable the various computers to communicate.

Collaborative computing is exemplified in Microsoft networks by server-based products such as Exchange Server or SQL Server. With both of these products, requests originate from intelligent client software (which uses the processor power of the workstation it is running on) but then are serviced from server software running on an NT Server. The server processes the request using its own resources and then passes the results back to the client. Processor and memory resources on both the client and the server are utilized in the completion of the task.

In summary, collaborative computing involves the following:

Multiple computers cooperating to perform a task
A network that enables the computers to exchange data and services
Software designed to take advantage of the collaborative environment.

Now that we have looked at these three organizational models, you should realize that Microsoft networks are generally based on the distributed computing model and that many higher-end NT options incorporate collaborative computing elements as well. The next decision an administrator needs to make is what type of server the network will have.