Centralized Systems
Centralized systems are architectural models where a single central authority or server controls and manages all operations, data, and resources, with clients or nodes connecting to this central point. This design simplifies management, ensures consistency, and provides a single point of control, but can create bottlenecks and single points of failure. Common examples include traditional client-server architectures, mainframe systems, and centralized databases.
Developers should learn about centralized systems when building applications that require strict control, centralized data management, or simplified administration, such as enterprise software, banking systems, or government databases. This concept is foundational for understanding trade-offs in system design, particularly when evaluating against decentralized or distributed alternatives for scalability and fault tolerance.