Which is considered a characteristic of distributed systems?

Distributed systems are characterized by the interaction of networked components that work together to achieve a common goal. This characteristic allows them to operate across multiple machines, often located in different geographical areas. The networking aspect implies that these components can communicate with each other through a network, sharing resources and exchanging information efficiently.

The significance of networked component interaction lies in its ability to enhance performance, redundancy, and resource sharing. Different components can handle various tasks simultaneously, improving the overall system's efficiency and reliability. This design is conducive to scalability, as adding more components can increase processing power and storage capacity.

The other options—single point of failure, limited scalability, and centralized data storage—contrast with the typical characteristics of distributed systems. These factors indicate vulnerabilities or limitations that are generally avoided in well-designed distributed systems to enhance reliability and achieve more robust performance.