Chapter 21 of 'Database System Concepts' discusses parallel and distributed storage systems, highlighting the growing data storage needs and technological advancements in parallel machines. It covers various partitioning techniques, addressing challenges like data skew, and methods for handling data distribution and execution skew, including virtual node partitioning and dynamic repartitioning. The chapter also examines replication strategies for availability, the architecture of distributed file systems like HDFS, sharding techniques, and key-value storage systems.