| Client-Server Architecture | 3-Tier Architecture | N-Tier Architecture | Peer to Peer Architecture | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The clients have limited capabilities, all computations all done at the server. The server manages its own database and provides services | Added a database server that is used for data-retrieval. Application Tier (Server) contains all application logic. Computations are still made in the server | Different client-server systems communicate with each other to solve a problem | All networked computers have the same responsibility | |
| Note: | The server can cause communication bottlenecks when requested simultaneously | NOTE: We call the 2nd Tier an application tier | Most modern distributed systems use an n-tier architecture with different enterprise applications working together as one system behind the scenes. Ex: GFS, Hadoop | Peer-to-peer architecture has become popular for content sharing, file streaming, and blockchain networks. |