Distributed systems have been an active field of research for over 60 years, and has played a crucial role in computer science, enabling the invention of the Internet that underpins all facets of modern life. Through technological advancements and their changing role in society, distributed systems have undergone a perpetual evolution, with each change resulting in the formation of a new paradigm. Each new distributed system paradigm—of which modern prominence include cloud computing, Fog computing, and the Internet of Things (IoT)—allows for new forms of commercial and artistic value, yet also ushers in new research challenges that must be addressed in order to realize and enhance their operation. However, it is necessary to precisely identify what factors drive the formation and growth of a paradigm, and how unique are the research challenges within modern distributed systems in comparison to prior generations of systems. The objective of this work is to study and evaluate the key factors that have influenced and driven the evolution of distributed system paradigms, from early mainframes, inception of the global inter-network, and to present contemporary systems such as edge computing, Fog computing and IoT. Our analysis highlights assumptions that have driven distributed systems appear to be changing, including (1) an accelerated fragmentation of paradigms driven by commercial interests and physical limitations imposed by the end of Moore’s law, (2) a transition away from generalized architectures and frameworks towards increasing specialization, and (3) each paradigm architecture results in some form of pivoting between centralization and decentralization coordination. Finally, we discuss present day and future challenges of distributed research pertaining to studying complex phenomena at scale and the role of distributed systems research in the context of climate change.

分布式系统已成为60多年来活跃的研究领域，并且在计算机科学中发挥了至关重要的作用，使互联网的发明成为现代生活各个方面的基础。通过技术进步及其在社会中的角色变化，分布式系统经历了永续的发展，每次变化都导致了新范式的形成。每个新的分布式系统范式（包括云计算，雾计算和物联网（IoT））都在现代中脱颖而出，它带来了新的商业和艺术价值形式，但同时也带来了新的研究挑战，必须克服这些挑战才能实现并增强其运作。但是，有必要精确地确定哪些因素驱动范式的形成和发展，以及与上一代系统相比，现代分布式系统中的研究挑战有何独特之处。这项工作的目的是研究和评估影响和驱动分布式系统范式从早期大型机到全球互联网络的形成的关键因素，并介绍诸如边缘计算，Fog计算和物联网 我们的分析强调了驱动分布式系统的假设正在发生变化，这些假设包括：（1）由商业利益和摩尔定律结束所施加的物理限制所驱动的范式的加速碎片化；（2）从通用架构和框架向通用架构和框架的过渡越来越专业化，（3）每种范式架构都会导致某种形式的集中和分散协调。最后，我们讨论了与大规模研究复杂现象有关的分布式研究的当前和未来挑战，以及分布式系统研究在气候变化背景下的作用。