Database Systems: Concepts, Design and Applications

17.1. Introduction

The architecture of a database system is greatly influenced by the underlying computer system on which the database system runs. Database systems can be centraled, parallel or distributed. In the preceding chapters, we introduced concepts of centralised database management systems (for example, hierarchical, networking, relational, object-oriented and object-relational) that are based on the single central processing unit (CPU) or computer architecture. In this architecture, all the data is maintained at a single site (or computer system) and assumed that the processing of individual transactions is essentially by sequential. But today, a single CPU based computer architecture is not capable enough for the modern databases ...