Distributed database

1. Definition:

A distributed database is a database that is under the control of a central

database management system (DBMS) in which storage devices are not all
attached to a common CPU. It may be stored in multiple computers located in the
same physical location, or may be dispersed over a network of interconnected
computers.

In a homogenous distributed database system, each database is an Oracle

Database. In a heterogeneous distributed database system, at least one of the databases
is not an Oracle Database. Distributed databases use a client/server architecture to
process information requests.

2. Distributed Database Architecture:

This section contains the following topics:

• Homogenous Distributed Database Systems

• Heterogeneous Distributed Database Systems
• Client/Server Database Architecture

(i) Homogenous distributed database system:

A homogenous distributed database system is a network of two or more Oracle

Databases that reside on one or more machines. Figure illustrates a distributed system
that connects three databases: hq, mfg, and sales. An application can simultaneously
access or modify the data in several databases in a single distributed environment. For
example, a single query from a Manufacturing client on local database mfg can retrieve
joined data from the products table on the local database and the dept table on the
remote hq database.

For a client application, the location and platform of the databases are transparent.
You can also create synonyms for remote objects in the distributed system so that users
can access them with the same syntax as local objects. For example, if you are connected
to database mfg but want to access data on database hq, creating a synonym on mfg for
the remote dept table enables you to issue this query:

SELECT * FROM dept;

 In this way, a distributed system gives the appearance of native data access. Users
on mfg do not have to know that the data they access resides on remote databases.

(ii) Heterogeneous distributed database system:

In a heterogeneous distributed database system, at least one of the databases is a

non-Oracle Database system. To the application, the heterogeneous distributed database
system appears as a single, local, Oracle Database. The local Oracle Database server
hides the distribution and heterogeneity of the data.

The Oracle Database server accesses the non-Oracle Database system using
Oracle Heterogeneous Services in conjunction with an agent. If you access the non-
Oracle Database data store using an Oracle Transparent Gateway, then the agent is a
system-specific application. For example, if you include a Sybase database in an Oracle
Database distributed system, then you need to obtain a Sybase-specific transparent
gateway so that the Oracle Database in the system can communicate with it.

Alternatively, you can use generic connectivity to access non-Oracle Database

data stores so long as the non-Oracle Database system supports the ODBC or OLE DB
protocols. Heterogeneous Services (HS) is an integrated component within the Oracle
Database server and the enabling technology for the current suite of Oracle Transparent
Gateway products. HS provides the common architecture and administration mechanisms
for Oracle Database gateway products.

(iii) Client/Server Database Architecture:

A database server is the Oracle software managing a database, and a client is an

application that requests information from a server. Each computer in a network is a node
that can host one or more databases. Each node in a distributed database system can act
as a client, a server, or both, depending on the situation.

In Figure, the host for the hq database is acting as a database server when a
statement is issued against its local data (for example, the second statement in each
transaction issues a statement against the local dept table), but is acting as a client when
it issues a statement against remote data (for example, the first statement in each
transaction is issued against the remote table emp in the sales database).
3. Transaction processing in a distributed System:

A transaction is a logical unit of work constituted by one or more SQL statements

executed by a single user. A transaction begins with the user's first executable SQL
statement and ends when it is committed or rolled back by that user.

A remote transaction contains only statements that access a single remote node.
A distributed transaction contains statements that access more than one node.

The following sections define important concepts in transaction processing and

explain how transactions access data in a distributed database:

• Remote SQL Statements

• Distributed SQL Statements
• Shared SQL for Remote and Distributed Statements
• Remote Transactions
• Distributed Transactions
• Two-Phase Commit Mechanism
• Database Link Name Resolution
• Schema Object Name Resolution
The above are explained in detail.

Remote SQL Statements

A remote query statement is a query that selects information from one or more
remote tables, all of which reside at the same remote node. For example, the following
query accesses data from the dept table in the scott schema of the remote sales
database:

SELECT * FROM scott.dept@sales.us.americas.acme_auto.com;

Distributed SQL Statements

A distributed query statement retrieves information from two or more nodes. For
example, the following query accesses data from the local database as well as the remote
sales database:

SELECT ename, dname

FROM scott.emp e, scott.dept@sales.us.americas.acme_auto.com d
WHERE e.deptno = d.deptno;

Shared SQL for Remote and Distributed Statements

The mechanics of a remote or distributed statement using shared SQL are

essentially the same as those of a local statement. The SQL text must match, and the
referenced objects must match. If available, shared SQL areas can be used for the local
and remote handling of any statement or decomposed query.

Remote Transactions

A remote transaction contains one or more remote statements, all of which

reference a single remote node. For example, the following transaction contains two
statements, each of which accesses the remote sales database:

UPDATE scott.dept@sales.us.americas.acme_auto.com
SET loc = 'NEW YORK'
WHERE deptno = 10;
UPDATE scott.emp@sales.us.americas.acme_auto.com
SET deptno = 11
WHERE deptno = 10;
COMMIT;

Distributed Transactions

A distributed transaction is a transaction that includes one or more statements

that, individually or as a group, update data on two or more distinct nodes of a distributed
database.
Two-Phase Commit Mechanism

The database two-phase commit mechanism guarantees that all database servers
participating in a distributed transaction either all commit or all roll back the statements
in the transaction. A two-phase commit mechanism also protects implicit DML
operations performed by integrity constraints, remote procedure calls, and triggers.

Database Link Name Resolution

A global object name is an object specified using a database link. The essential
components of a global object name are:

• Object name
• Database name
• Domain

The database always searches for matching database links in the following order:

1. Private database links in the schema of the user who issued the SQL statement.
2. Public database links in the local database.
3. Global database links (only if a directory server is available).

Schema Object Name Resolution

After the local Oracle Database connects to the specified remote database on
behalf of the local user that issued the SQL statement, object resolution continues as if
the remote user had issued the associated SQL statement. The first match determines the
remote schema according to the following rules:

Type of Link Specified Location of Object Resolution

A fixed user database link Schema specified in the link creation statement
A connected user database link Connected user's remote schema
A current user database link Current user's schema

If the database cannot find the object, then it checks public objects of the remote
database. If it cannot resolve the object, then the established remote session remains but
the SQL statement cannot execute and returns an error.

4. Advantage:

 Management of distributed data with different levels of transparency.

  Increase reliability and availability.
 Easier expansion.
 Local autonomy — a department can control the data about them (as they are the
ones familiar with it.)
 Protection of valuable data — if there were ever a catastrophic event such as a
fire, all of the data would not be in one place, but distributed in multiple locations.
 Improved performance — data is located near the site of greatest demand, and the
database systems themselves are parallelized, allowing load on the databases to be
balanced among servers. (A high load on one module of the database won't affect
other modules of the database in a distributed database.)
 Modularity — systems can be modified, added and removed from the distributed
database without affecting other modules (systems).
 Reliable transactions - Due to replication of database.
 Hardware, Operating System, Network, Fragmentation, DBMS, Replication and
Location Independence.

5. Disadvantage:
 Additional software is required.
 Operating System should support distributed environment.
 Concurrency control: it is a major issue. It is solved by locking and timestamping.
 Complexity.