Difference between Cloud Computing and Distributed Computing

Key Difference: Cloud computing is used to define a new class of computing that is based on the network technology. Cloud computing takes place over the internet. It comprises of a collection of integrated and networked hardware, software and internet infrastructures. These infrastructures are used to provide various services to the users. Distributed computing comprises of multiple software components that belong to multiple computers. The system works or runs as a single system. Cloud computing can be referred to as a form that originated from distributed computing and virtualization.

Cloud computing is used to define a new class of computing that is based on network technology. Cloud computing takes place over the internet. It comprises of a collection of integrated and networked hardware, software and internet infrastructure. These infrastructures are used to provide various services to the users. One of the biggest advantage of using cloud computing is that it hides the complexity and details of underlying infrastructure, and thus users can easily use the services through simple graphical interface. These systems are virtually managed and often distributed.

Distributed computing comprises of multiple software components that belong to multiple computers. The system works or runs as a single system. The computers forming the distributed architecture may or may not be closely located. These systems are often preferred for the scalability factor. It is quite easy to add new components to the system without disturbing the existing system.

Comparison between Cloud Computing and Distributed Computing:

	Cloud Computing	Distributed Computing
Definition	Cloud computing is used to define a new class of computing that is based on network technology. Cloud computing takes place over the internet. It comprises of a collection of integrated and networked hardware, software and internet infrastructure.	Distributed computing comprises of multiple software components that belong to multiple computers. The system works or runs as a single system. Cloud computing can be referred to as a form that originated from distributed computing and virtualization.
Goals	Reduced Investments and Proportional Costs Increased Scalability Increased Availability and Reliability	Resource Sharing Openness Transparency Scalability
Types	Public Clouds Private Clouds Community Clouds Hybrid Clouds	Distributed Computing Systems Distributed Information Systems Distributed Pervasive Systems
Characteristics	It provides a shared pool of configurable computing resources. An on-demand network model is used to provide access The clouds are provisioned by the Service Providers. It provides broad network access.	A task is distributed amongst different machines for the computation job at the same time. Technologies such as Remote Procedure calls and Remote Method Invocation are used to construct distributed computations.
Disadvantages	More elasticity means less control especially in the case of public clouds. Restrictions on available services may be faced, as it depends upon the cloud provider.	Higher level of failure of nodes than a dedicated parallel machine. Few of the algorithms are not able to match with slow networks. Nature of the computing job may present too much overhead.