Database Fundamentals
Distributed Databases
Overview
Distributed vs. decentralized Why distributed databases Distributed database architecture and environment Explain advantages and risks of distributed databases Explain strategies and options for distributed database design
Distributed vs. Decentralized
Distributed Database: A single
logical database that is spread
physically across computers in multiple locations that are connected by a data communications link Decentralized Database: A collection of independent databases
They are NOT the same thing!
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Why Distributed Database
Business unit autonomy and distribution Data sharing Data communication costs Data communication reliability and costs Multiple application vendors Database recovery Transaction and analytic processing
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Distributed DBMS architecture
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Homogeneous Database
Identical DBMSs
Typical Heterogeneous Environment
Non-identical DBMSs
Source: adapted from Bell and Grimson, 1992.
Distributed Database Options
Homogeneous - Same DBMS at each node
Autonomous - Independent DBMSs Non-autonomous - Central, coordinating DBMS Easy to manage, difficult to enforce
Heterogeneous - Different DBMSs at different nodes
Systems With full or partial DBMS functionality Gateways - Simple paths are created to other databases without the benefits of one logical database Difficult to manage, preferred by independent organizations
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Homogeneous, NonAutonomous Database
Data is distributed across all the nodes Same DBMS at each node All data is managed by the distributed DBMS (no exclusively local data) All access is through one, global schema The global schema is the union of all the local schema
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Typical Heterogeneous Environment
Data distributed across all the nodes Different DBMSs may be used at each node Local access is done using the local DBMS and schema Remote access is done using the global schema
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Major Objectives
Location Transparency
User does not have to know the location of the data Data requests automatically forwarded to appropriate sites
Local site can operate with its database when network connections fail Each site controls its own data, security, logging, recovery
Local Autonomy
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Significant Trade-Offs
Synchronous Distributed Database
All copies of the same data are always identical Data updates are immediately applied to all copies throughout network Good for data integrity High overhead slow response times Some data inconsistency is tolerated Data update propagation is delayed Lower data integrity Less overhead faster response time
Asynchronous Distributed Database
NOTE: all this assumes replicated data
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Advantages of Distributed Database over Centralized Databases
Increased reliability/availability Local control over data Modular growth Lower communication costs Faster response for certain queries
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Disadvantages of Distributed Database Compared to Centralized Databases
Software cost and complexity Processing overhead Data integrity exposure Slower response for certain queries
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Options for Distributing a Database
Data replication
Copies of data distributed to different sites Different rows of a table distributed to different sites Different columns of a table distributed to different sites
Horizontal partitioning
Vertical partitioning
Combinations of the above
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Distributed processing system for a manufacturing company
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Distributed DBMS
Distributed database requires distributed DBMS
Functions of a distributed DBMS:
Locate data with a distributed data dictionary Determine location from which to retrieve data and process query components DBMS translation between nodes with different local DBMSs (using middleware) Data consistency (via multiphase commit protocols) Global primary key control Scalability Security, concurrency, query optimization, failure recovery
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