Data Analysis for Database Design, 3rd Edition

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Distributed database systems

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The users of a database are often widely dispersed, for example, throughout a building,

a city, nationally or internationally. They typically belong to departments or divisions

located at geographically distinct sites. Such a physical organisation necessitates the

linking of sites by a communications network if the users are to access a shared

database. However, transmission speeds across a network are much slower than for

local access to a database, and the extent and complexity of the network make it more

vulnerable to failure. These disadvantages may be alleviated by distributing the

database amongst the user sites. Users can have fast, reliable, local access to data that

they frequently use while still being able to access data that is stored at remote sites.

A distributed database (DDB) is managed by a distributed database management

system (DDBMS) which, as well as providing the usual DBMS functions, keeps track of

how the data is distributed. Consequently, users and applications do not need to know

where the data is stored. To them, the distributed database looks like a single, local

database.

For a distributed database, the flexing methods discussed in the previous chapter can

be extended to include consideration of where data should be located. Different

tables can be located at different sites, the rows and/or columns of a table can be split

between several sites, and copies of the same table (or part thereof) can be stored at

several sites.

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The library scenario in section 14.3 assumed that the library operates at only one site.

We now consider an extended scenario in which the service is provided through a

number of branch libraries situated in towns and villages throughout a wider area.

The term global is used to refer to the library as a whole; the term local refers to a

branch library. For example, the global book stock is the total stock held by the library;

the local book stock is the stock held by an individual branch. Each borrower is issued,

on registration, with a plastic card bearing a bar-coded borrowerNo which is globally

unique. Each copy is labelled with a bar-coded accessionNo which is globally unique.

Remember that a distinction was made in section 14.3 between a book (identified by

ISBNX) and a copy (identified by accessionNo). There may be many copies of the same

book.