Chapter 2:

Database System Architectures

Database System Concepts, 5th Ed.

©Silberschatz, Korth and Sudarshan
See www.db-book.com for conditions on re-use
Typical DBMS Component Modules

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Centralized DBMS Architecture
 A centralized DBMS in which all the DBMS functionality, application
program execution, and user interface processing were carried out on a
single machine

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A Physical Centralized Architecture

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Basic Client/Server Architectures

 The client/server architecture was developed

to deal with computer environment in which a
large number of PCs, workstation, file
server…

 A client in this framework is typically a user

machine that provides user interface
capabilities and local processing
 A server is a system containing both
hardware and software that can provide
services to the client machines.

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Logical two-tier client server
architecture

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Two-tier Architecture
 This is called two-tire architectures because the software components
are distributed over two systems: client and server

 The emergence of the Web changed the roles of client and server,
leading to the three-tier architecture

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Three-tier architecture

 The intermediate layer or middle layer is

sometimes called the application server or
Web server

 Three-tier Architecture Can Enhance

Security:
1. Database server only accessible via middle tier
2. Clients cannot directly access database server

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Three-tier architecture

 The presentation layer displays information to

the user
 The business logic layer handles intermediate
rules and constrains before data is passed up
to the user or down to the DBMS

 If the bottom layer is split into two layers (a

web server and a database server), then it is
a 4-tire architecture (possible to the n-tier)

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Three-tier client-server architecture

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DBMS Component Modules

 A DBMS is a complex software system

 The figure showed in next slide is divide into

two halves.
 The top half refers to the various users of the
database system
 The lower half shows the internals of the
DBMS responsible for storage of data and
processing of transactions

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Centralized Systems
 Run on a single computer system and do not interact with other
computer systems.
 General-purpose computer system: one to a few CPUs and a number
of device controllers that are connected through a common bus that
provides access to shared memory.
 Single-user system (e.g., personal computer or workstation): desk-top
unit, single user, usually has only one CPU and one or two hard disks;
the OS may support only one user.
 Multi-user system: more disks, more memory, multiple CPUs, and a
multi-user OS. Serve a large number of users who are connected to
the system vie terminals. Often called server systems.

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A Centralized Computer System

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Client-Server Systems
 Server systems satisfy requests generated at m client systems, whose general
structure is shown below:

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Client-Server Systems (Cont.)
 Database functionality can be divided into:
 Back-end: manages access structures, query evaluation and
optimization, concurrency control and recovery.
 Front-end: consists of tools such as forms, report-writers, and
graphical user interface facilities.
 The interface between the front-end and the back-end is through SQL or
through an application program interface.

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Client-Server Systems (Cont.)
 Advantages of replacing mainframes with networks of workstations or
personal computers connected to back-end server machines:
 better functionality for the cost
 flexibility in locating resources and expanding facilities
 better user interfaces
 easier maintenance

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Server System Architecture
 Server systems can be broadly categorized into two kinds:
 transaction servers which are widely used in relational database
systems, and
 data servers, used in object-oriented database systems

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Transaction Servers
 Also called query server systems or SQL server systems
 Clients send requests to the server
 Transactions are executed at the server
 Results are shipped back to the client.
 Requests are specified in SQL, and communicated to the server
through a remote procedure call (RPC) mechanism.
 Transactional RPC allows many RPC calls to form a transaction.
 Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) is a C language application
program interface standard from Microsoft for connecting to a server,
sending SQL requests, and receiving results.
 JDBC standard is similar to ODBC, for Java

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Transaction Server Process Structure
 A typical transaction server consists of multiple processes accessing
data in shared memory.
 Server processes
 These receive user queries (transactions), execute them and send
results back
 Processes may be multithreaded, allowing a single process to
execute several user queries concurrently
 Typically multiple multithreaded server processes
 Lock manager process
 More on this later
 Database writer process
 Output modified buffer blocks to disks continually

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Transaction Server Processes (Cont.)

 Log writer process

 Server processes simply add log records to log record buffer
 Log writer process outputs log records to stable storage.
 Checkpoint process
 Performs periodic checkpoints
 Process monitor process
 Monitors other processes, and takes recovery actions if any of the other
processes fail
 E.g. aborting any transactions being executed by a server process
and restarting it

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Transaction System Processes (Cont.)

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Transaction System Processes (Cont.)
 Shared memory contains shared data
 Buffer pool
 Lock table
 Log buffer
 Cached query plans (reused if same query submitted again)
 All database processes can access shared memory
 To ensure that no two processes are accessing the same data structure
at the same time, databases systems implement mutual exclusion
using either
 Operating system semaphores
 Atomic instructions such as test-and-set
 To avoid overhead of interprocess communication for lock
request/grant, each database process operates directly on the lock
table

instead of sending requests to lock manager process
 Lock manager process still used for deadlock detection

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Data Servers
 Used in high-speed LANs, in cases where
 The clients are comparable in processing power to the server
 The tasks to be executed are compute intensive.
 Data are shipped to clients where processing is performed, and then
shipped results back to the server.
 This architecture requires full back-end functionality at the clients.
 Used in many object-oriented database systems
 Issues:
 Page-Shipping versus Item-Shipping
 Locking
 Data Caching
 Lock Caching

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Data Servers (Cont.)
 Page-shipping versus item-shipping
 Smaller unit of shipping  more messages
 Worth prefetching related items along with requested item
 Page shipping can be thought of as a form of prefetching
 Locking
 Overhead of requesting and getting locks from server is high due
to message delays
 Can grant locks on requested and prefetched items; with page
shipping, transaction is granted lock on whole page.
 Locks on a prefetched item can be P{called back} by the server,
and returned by client transaction if the prefetched item has not
been used.
 Locks on the page can be deescalated to locks on items in the
page when there are lock conflicts. Locks on unused items can
then be returned to server.

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Data Servers (Cont.)
 Data Caching
 Data can be cached at client even in between transactions
 But check that data is up-to-date before it is used (cache coherency)
 Check can be done when requesting lock on data item
 Lock Caching
 Locks can be retained by client system even in between transactions
 Transactions can acquire cached locks locally, without contacting
server
 Server calls back locks from clients when it receives conflicting lock
request. Client returns lock once no local transaction is using it.
 Similar to deescalation, but across transactions.

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Parallel Systems
 Parallel database systems consist of multiple processors and multiple
disks connected by a fast interconnection network.
 A coarse-grain parallel machine consists of a small number of
powerful processors
 A massively parallel or fine grain parallel machine utilizes
thousands of smaller processors.
 Two main performance measures:
 throughput --- the number of tasks that can be completed in a
given time interval
 response time --- the amount of time it takes to complete a single
task from the time it is submitted

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Parallel Database Architectures
 Shared memory -- processors share a common memory
 Shared disk -- processors share a common disk
 Shared nothing -- processors share neither a common memory nor
common disk
 Hierarchical -- hybrid of the above architectures

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Parallel Database Architectures

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Shared Memory
 Processors and disks have access to a common memory, typically via
a bus or through an interconnection network.
 Extremely efficient communication between processors — data in
shared memory can be accessed by any processor without having to
move it using software.
 Downside – architecture is not scalable beyond 32 or 64 processors
since the bus or the interconnection network becomes a bottleneck
 Widely used for lower degrees of parallelism (4 to 8).

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Shared Disk
 All processors can directly access all disks via an interconnection
network, but the processors have private memories.
 The memory bus is not a bottleneck
 Architecture provides a degree of fault-tolerance — if a processor
fails, the other processors can take over its tasks since the database
is resident on disks that are accessible from all processors.
 Examples: IBM Sysplex and DEC clusters (now part of Compaq)
running Rdb (now Oracle Rdb) were early commercial users
 Downside: bottleneck now occurs at interconnection to the disk
subsystem.
 Shared-disk systems can scale to a somewhat larger number of
processors, but communication between processors is slower.

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Shared Nothing
 Node consists of a processor, memory, and one or more disks.
Processors at one node communicate with another processor at
another node using an interconnection network. A node functions as
the server for the data on the disk or disks the node owns.
 Examples: Teradata, Tandem, Oracle-n CUBE
 Data accessed from local disks (and local memory accesses) do not
pass through interconnection network, thereby minimizing the
interference of resource sharing.
 Shared-nothing multiprocessors can be scaled up to thousands of
processors without interference.
 Main drawback: cost of communication and non-local disk access;
sending data involves software interaction at both ends.

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Hierarchical
 Combines characteristics of shared-memory, shared-disk, and shared-
nothing architectures.
 Top level is a shared-nothing architecture – nodes connected by an
interconnection network, and do not share disks or memory with each
other.
 Each node of the system could be a shared-memory system with a
few processors.
 Alternatively, each node could be a shared-disk system, and each of
the systems sharing a set of disks could be a shared-memory system.
 Reduce the complexity of programming such systems by distributed
virtual-memory architectures
 Also called non-uniform memory architecture (NUMA)

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Distributed Systems
 Data spread over multiple machines (also referred to as sites or
nodes).
 Network interconnects the machines
 Data shared by users on multiple machines

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Distributed Databases
 Homogeneous distributed databases
 Same software/schema on all sites, data may be partitioned
among sites
 Goal: provide a view of a single database, hiding details of
distribution
 Heterogeneous distributed databases
 Different software/schema on different sites
 Goal: integrate existing databases to provide useful functionality
 Differentiate between local and global transactions
 A local transaction accesses data in the single site at which the
transaction was initiated.
 A global transaction either accesses data in a site different from
the one at which the transaction was initiated or accesses data in
several different sites.

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Trade-offs in Distributed Systems
 Sharing data – users at one site able to access the data residing at
some other sites.
 Autonomy – each site is able to retain a degree of control over data
stored locally.
 Higher system availability through redundancy — data can be
replicated at remote sites, and system can function even if a site fails.
 Disadvantage: added complexity required to ensure proper
coordination among sites.
 Software development cost.
 Greater potential for bugs.
 Increased processing overhead.

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Implementation Issues for Distributed
Databases
 Atomicity needed even for transactions that update data at multiple sites
 The two-phase commit protocol (2PC) is used to ensure atomicity
 Basic idea: each site executes transaction until just before commit,
and the leaves final decision to a coordinator
 Each site must follow decision of coordinator, even if there is a failure
while waiting for coordinators decision
 2PC is not always appropriate: other transaction models based on
persistent messaging, and workflows, are also used
 Distributed concurrency control (and deadlock detection) required
 Data items may be replicated to improve data availability
 Details of above in Chapter 22

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Network Types
 Local-area networks (LANs) – composed of processors that are
distributed over small geographical areas, such as a single building or
a few adjacent buildings.
 Wide-area networks (WANs) – composed of processors distributed
over a large geographical area.

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