Outline

• Introduction
➡ What is a distributed DBMS
➡ Distributed DBMS Architecture
• Background
• Distributed Database Design
• Database Integration
• Semantic Data Control
• Distributed Query Processing
• Multidatabase query processing
• Distributed Transaction Management
• Data Replication
• Parallel Database Systems
• Distributed Object DBMS
• Peer-to-Peer Data Management
• Web Data Management
• Current Issues
Distributed DBMS © M. T. Özsu & P. Valduriez Ch.1/1
File Systems

program 1
File 1
data description 1

program 2
data description 2 File 2

program 3
data description 3 File 3

Distributed DBMS © M. T. Özsu & P. Valduriez Ch.1/2

Database Management
Application
program 1
(with data
semantics)
DBMS

description
Application
program 2 manipulation
(with data database
semantics) control

Application
program 3
(with data
semantics)

Distributed DBMS © M. T. Özsu & P. Valduriez Ch.1/3

Motivation

Database Computer
Technology Networks
integration distribution

Distributed
Database
Systems
integration

integration ≠ centralization
Distributed DBMS © M. T. Özsu & P. Valduriez Ch.1/4
Distributed Computing
• A number of autonomous processing elements (not necessarily
homogeneous) that are interconnected by a computer network and that
cooperate in performing their assigned tasks.
• What is being distributed?
➡ Processing logic
➡ Function
➡ Data
➡ Control

Distributed DBMS © M. T. Özsu & P. Valduriez Ch.1/5

 What is a Distributed Database
System?
A distributed database (DDB) is a collection of multiple, logically
interrelated databases distributed over a computer network.

A distributed database management system (D–DBMS) is the software

that manages the DDB and provides an access mechanism that makes this
distribution transparent to the users.

Distributed database system (DDBS) = DDB + D–DBMS

Distributed DBMS © M. T. Özsu & P. Valduriez Ch.1/6

What is not a DDBS?
• A timesharing computer system
• A loosely or tightly coupled multiprocessor system
• A database system which resides at one of the nodes of a network of
computers - this is a centralized database on a network node

Distributed DBMS © M. T. Özsu & P. Valduriez Ch.1/7

Centralized DBMS on a Network

Site 1
Site 2

Site 5

Communication
Network

Site 4 Site 3

Distributed DBMS © M. T. Özsu & P. Valduriez Ch.1/8

Distributed DBMS Environment

Site 1
Site 2

Site 5
Communication
Network

Site 4 Site 3

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Implicit Assumptions
• Data stored at a number of sites  each site logically consists of a single
processor.
• Processors at different sites are interconnected by a computer network 
not a multiprocessor system
➡ Parallel database systems

• Distributed database is a database, not a collection of files  data logically

related as exhibited in the users’ access patterns
➡ Relational data model

• D-DBMS is a full-fledged DBMS

➡ Not remote file system, not a TP system

Distributed DBMS © M. T. Özsu & P. Valduriez Ch.1/10

Data Delivery Alternatives
• Delivery modes
➡ Pull-only
➡ Push-only
➡ Hybrid

• Frequency
➡ Periodic
➡ Conditional
➡ Ad-hoc or irregular

• Communication Methods
➡ Unicast
➡ One-to-many

• Note: not all combinations make sense

Distributed DBMS © M. T. Özsu & P. Valduriez Ch.1/11
Distributed DBMS Promises
 Transparent management of distributed, fragmented, and replicated data

 Improved reliability/availability through distributed transactions

 Improved performance

 Easier and more economical system expansion

Distributed DBMS © M. T. Özsu & P. Valduriez Ch.1/12

Transparency
• Transparency is the separation of the higher level semantics of a system
from the lower level implementation issues.
• Fundamental issue is to provide
data independence
in the distributed environment
➡ Network (distribution) transparency

➡ Replication transparency

➡ Fragmentation transparency
✦ horizontal fragmentation: selection
✦ vertical fragmentation: projection
✦ hybrid

Distributed DBMS © M. T. Özsu & P. Valduriez Ch.1/13

Example

Distributed DBMS © M. T. Özsu & P. Valduriez Ch.1/14

Transparent Access
SELECT ENAME,SAL
Tokyo
FROM EMP,ASG,PAY
WHERE DUR > 12 Boston Paris
AND EMP.ENO = ASG.ENO Paris projects
Paris employees
AND PAY.TITLE = EMP.TITLE Communication Paris assignments
Network Boston employees

Boston projects
Boston employees
Boston assignments
Montreal
New
Montreal projects
York Paris projects
Boston projects New York projects
New York employees with budget > 200000
New York projects Montreal employees
New York assignments Montreal assignments

Distributed DBMS © M. T. Özsu & P. Valduriez Ch.1/15

Distributed Database - User View

Distributed Database

Distributed DBMS © M. T. Özsu & P. Valduriez Ch.1/16

Distributed DBMS - Reality
User
Query

User
DBMS
Application
Software
DBMS
Software

DBMS Communication
Software Subsystem

User
DBMS User Application
Software Query
DBMS
Software

User
Query

Distributed DBMS © M. T. Özsu & P. Valduriez Ch.1/17

Types of Transparency
• Data independence
• Network transparency (or distribution transparency)
➡ Location transparency
➡ Fragmentation transparency

• Replication transparency
• Fragmentation transparency

Distributed DBMS © M. T. Özsu & P. Valduriez Ch.1/18

Reliability Through Transactions
• Replicated components and data should make distributed DBMS more
reliable.
• Distributed transactions provide
➡ Concurrency transparency
➡ Failure atomicity
• Distributed transaction support requires implementation of
➡ Distributed concurrency control protocols
➡ Commit protocols

• Data replication
➡ Great for read-intensive workloads, problematic for updates
➡ Replication protocols

Distributed DBMS © M. T. Özsu & P. Valduriez Ch.1/19

Potentially Improved
Performance
• Proximity of data to its points of use

➡ Requires some support for fragmentation and replication

• Parallelism in execution

➡ Inter-query parallelism

➡ Intra-query parallelism

Distributed DBMS © M. T. Özsu & P. Valduriez Ch.1/20

Parallelism Requirements
• Have as much of the data required by each application at the site where the
application executes

➡ Full replication

• How about updates?

➡ Mutual consistency

➡ Freshness of copies

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System Expansion
• Issue is database scaling

• Emergence of microprocessor and workstation technologies

➡ Demise of Grosh's law

➡ Client-server model of computing

• Data communication cost vs telecommunication cost

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Distributed DBMS Issues
• Distributed Database Design
➡ How to distribute the database

➡ Replicated & non-replicated database distribution

➡ A related problem in directory management

• Query Processing
➡ Convert user transactions to data manipulation instructions

➡ Optimization problem
✦ min{cost = data transmission + local processing}
➡ General formulation is NP-hard

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Distributed DBMS Issues
• Concurrency Control
➡ Synchronization of concurrent accesses

➡ Consistency and isolation of transactions' effects

➡ Deadlock management

• Reliability
➡ How to make the system resilient to failures

➡ Atomicity and durability

Distributed DBMS © M. T. Özsu & P. Valduriez Ch.1/24

Relationship Between Issues
Directory
Management

Query Distribution
Reliability
Processing Design

Concurrency
Control

Deadlock
Management
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Related Issues
• Operating System Support
➡ Operating system with proper support for database operations
➡ Dichotomy between general purpose processing requirements and database
processing requirements
• Open Systems and Interoperability
➡ Distributed Multidatabase Systems
➡ More probable scenario
➡ Parallel issues

Distributed DBMS © M. T. Özsu & P. Valduriez Ch.1/26