History in Distributed Databases - Essay Example

ID # History in Distributed Databases The basic purpose of this research is to describe the history of distributed databases. This paper also discusses the various benefits of distributed databases. This paper also discusses the current status of distributed databases. The development of a database normally encompasses dealing with both the logical and physical designs of software and hardware devices that are used to store and handle an organization’s data storage. In addition, organizations can adopt any one of the several available techniques to develop a database. In this scenario, a distributed database design allows the organizations to divide a database over different hardware devices, but with a central management control. The basic purpose of implementing distributed databases is to offer higher reliability and superior performance. Without a doubt, the division of a database into multiple locations can provide a number of advantages to organizations (Holmes; Hoffer, Prescott and McFadden). Additionally, this way of data storage offers superior control over particular data. In this scenario, the load of the database management is divided among several hardware devices and burden of processing is shifted from a single location to multiple locations. Normally, a distributed database is developed on the basis of business departments, or geographical areas or companies. In view of the fact that the database appears at local location to each business department inside an organization hence it offers quicker response times for the database users. In addition, these departments are also smaller as compared to the size of the overall organization, as a result the processing load over the server also reduces. The research has shown that the majority of organizations prefers to develop distinct business sectors for particular tasks. For instance, organizations can develop different organizational units for human resources, accounting, and sales departments. Moreover, they develop a distributed database to assist in running the operations of particular business units all the way through the company, at the same time as establishing and maintaining authority from a central server. This technique is also useful in separating the data and hardware all the way through the organization, as a result the performance and control over the database also improves (Holmes; Hoffer, Prescott and McFadden). Though, the distributed databases require the development of database using all the traditional techniques of database development except they are based on a different perspective. They are being developed to get the advantages of central access by company head office, at the same time as supporting local access for particular company sectors. In this scenario, this database design technique is very useful for organizations that are distributed all over the world. Additionally, these databases are also used by the companies that support multiple portfolios. For instance, a number of industries such as hospitality, manufacturing and banking can take benefits from the implementation of distributed databases. In addition, a distributed database can also be useful in supporting an organization in their accounting unit. Moreover, an international organization that has several offices in various countries of the world can normally develop a distributed database to support its business operations in each country. In this scenario, this division of geographical areas would allow the local country to get access to data and perform operations faster. Also, the organization would be able to use the central database to get access to data available in each country without having an impact on local application. Without a doubt, distributed databases offer superior reliability and flexibility for the organizations. In view of the fact that the data is located on different servers, hence it can straightforwardly be copied onto new hardware devices and database structures all the way through the business organization. In this scenario, the risk of inaccessible data because of hardware breakdown is also reduced (Holmes; Hoffer, Prescott and McFadden). Though, distributed databases are implemented to attain the benefits that come with dividing a database in different location however, the implementations of these databases can also cause some serious challenges for the organizations. For instance, due to the implementations of distributed databases the integrity and concurrency of data can be compromised. In this scenario, distributed data can turn out to be inaccessible to the central server. Though, it can be because of network problems that happen in the computer system. In view of the fact that the database will exist into the local units of the organizations, so there is a chance that it can turn into outdated within the head office of the company while waiting for the network issue is resolved (Holmes; Hoffer, Prescott and McFadden). History of Distributed Databases The history of the databases can be traced back to the emergence of governmental, libraries, medical and business records prior to the development of the computers. The need for the databases emerged when people started to understand that they should have the ways through which they could keep data and information and preserve them in the form of files for later retrieval. Hence, they were always trying to identify methods and tools to store, access and index data. In addition, with the developments in hardware devices and especially the emergence of computer systems, the trend of databases changed quickly. It enabled people to store their data in an easy, inexpensive, and less space-consuming way and gather and maintain the database (Berg, Seymour and Goel). The era between the starting of 60’s and mid-60’s is believed to be the starting of the database. At that time, two most important data models known as hierarchical model IMS (Information Management System) and network model CODASYL (Conference on Data System Language) were developed. In addition, it was the first generation of the databases which was based on navigational structure. This navigational structure made use of pointers in order to access data and to move from one record to another. In addition, storage was completely depended on the type of data to be stored. In this scenario, the addition of an additional field to the database required rewriting the basic access/modification structure (Berg, Seymour and Goel). In the 1970, E.F. Codd developed the relational database model. This model can be defined by making use of two terms: instance and scheme. In this scenario, an instance refers to a table comprising rows and columns and schema is used to outline the structure of the relation, comprising various elements such as name, the name of the relation, and type of each column. The emergence of this model changed the way people believed about databases. In addition, this model did not depend on the connection between a logical organization or the database’s schema and physical information storage, which became the typical standard for database systems (Berg, Seymour and Goel). Moreover, during the period between 1974 and 1977, prototypes of two most important relational database system were also created. The first relational database system is known as INGRES, which was created by the University of California-Berkeley. This prototype led the development of various entities such as Sybase, Ingres Corporation, Britton-Lee, and MS SQL Server. Additionally, QUEL was used as a query language throughout this system. And the other prototype was created by IBM in San Jose as system R. This system is believed to be the basis for the development of other systems such as ORACLE, IBM’s DB2 and SQL/DS, and HP’s Allbase. As soon as the relational model turned out to be well-known, the history of databases took a quick turn as well as began moving in the direction of a superior future for data storage, data integrity and data management (Berg, Seymour and Goel). In the 1980’s, the commercialization of database system started as a flourishing area which fueled the database business market. There emerged a large number of changes in this era as things started to standardize in terms of databases for instance, structured query language (SQL) turned out to be the interplanetary standard. In the same way, DB2 appeared as a leading product of IBM. Additionally, the emergence of IBM’s PCs (personal computers) supported the development and growth of various database products and organizations like that RBASE 5000, RIM, OS/2 Database Manager, PARADOX and Watcom SQL. In fact, all these systems were completed based on the relational database models and were developed during the1980’s. In the same era, the idea of object-oriented database (OODB) was also emerged. This model used the objects to demonstrate information as they are used in object-oriented programming (OOP). Though, relational databases are completely different from object oriented databases, however they both belong to the broader database management system (Berg, Seymour and Goel). Until 1990’s the concept of databases became much sophisticated and the interest of the database development firms moved from the development of database management systems to the development of client tools for supporting them in developing these database applications for instance Oracle Developer, Sybase PowerBuilder, and Microsoft VB. In addition, during this era, the client-server architecture for computing turned out to be the standard for upcoming business decisions. Additionally, the development of some of the well-known personal production tools like that ODBC (Open Database Connectivity) and Microsoft Excel/Access is also seen in this era (Berg, Seymour and Goel). The concept of the distributed databases was applied to the existing databases. As the centralized databases have been already in use. In the centralized databases, data were kept in a central location so it was a simple structure however it was ineffective in dealing with various problems that required the distribution of data. In this scenario, centralized data processing was prevailing from the end of the 1960s to the mid-1980s. However, the prices of hardware started to reduce in the 1980s. Hence, organizations started to deploy these hardware devices at different locations inside an organization. They established networks in order to connect these hardware devices. So the users at the organizations used these networks to access hardware devices and data stored on these devices. In this scenario, the process of distributed databases was supported by these networks however it was limited to only inside the organization. It is believed to be the starting of distributed data processing. Various researches show that the concept of distributed database was emerging at the end of 1970s with parallel database systems. Actually, these parallel database systems were developed attain achieving higher flexibility and performance by making use of the parallelism in transaction loads. As discussed above, the distributed databases are used by larger organizations to manage their data available at different locations. Hence, the developments and growths of distributed databases were primarily supported by the need to handle data for huge firms with multiple subsidiaries and offices however, slow processing and low quality of that time hindered the acceptance of distributed database. Hence, in the 1990s, the developments of latest technologies and hardware together with the increasing business needs to handle distributed data motivated the work on distributed database systems and since then a large number of studies and researches have been carried out in the field of distributed databases (DuCharme; Berg, Seymour and Goel). The concept of distributed databases is heavily dependent on the latest hardware and network technologies such as the Internet. In fact, the connection between different pieces and units of databases across the world is possible only through the availability of the Internet. Hence, this concept further grown around the mid-1990’s with the emergence of working the Internet and World Wide Web (WWW). The integration of the Internet and databases provided the organizations with remote access to computer systems with legacy data. In addition, during this period the organizations spent huge investments in the network and internet technologies to develop tools for connecting Web, Internet and databases. Some of the well-known examples of these tools included Front Page, Active Server Pages (ASP), JDBC, Java Servlets, ColdFusion, Enterprise Java Beans, Oracle Developer 2000 and Dream Weaver. In the same way, a wide variety of open source tools were also emerged to support this kind of data access. Some of the well-known examples of open source databases included CGI (Computer Generated Imagery), GCC (GNU Compiler Collection), MySQL and Apache. In the 21st century the growth of new ideas in distributed databases is still continuing as the technology is becoming more and more efficient and ubiquitous. The 21st century has brought a large number of technologies such as high speed servers with excellent processing capabilities and mobile technologies. These technologies can be very useful in supporting the concept of distributed databases (Berg, Seymour and Goel). The Current Status of Distributed Databases If supported through the latest technologies, the distributed databases are capable of providing a variety of advantages that cannot be offered by the centralized database management systems. It is believed that the distributed database technology is intended to strengthen the idea of data independence by extending it to infrastructure in which data has to be copied and distributed over multiple hardware devices that are part of a network. In the context of a distributed database environment, the concept of data independence is supported by a different form of transparency such as network (and, thus, distribution) transparency, fragmentation transparency and replication transparency. This data transparency is useful in separating the lower-level implementation problems from higher level semantics of a system. Hence, the users of a distributed database would be able to see a logically integrated, single image database despite the fact it may be actually dispersed, allowing them to get access and use the distributed database as if they were using a centralized database (Ozsu and Valduriez; Hoffer, Prescott and McFadden). Improved Reliability through Distributed Transactions The research has shown that the distributed databases improve data reliability for the reason that these databases contain copied elements as a result they eradicate single points of breakdown. In this scenario, failure of a database or system at any location does not affect the overall database system however only the affected system stops working. Hence, in the scenario of a distributed database some of the data may be unreachable, however using certain measures, organizations can allow their users to access remaining components of the distributed database (Ozsu and Valduriez; Hoffer, Prescott and McFadden). Improved Performance In view of the fact that a distributed database divides the data into components and store them in different locations allowing organizations to store these data in close nearness to its place of use. In this scenario, this localization of database minimizes the delay that occurs in case of remote access normally involved in wide area networks (Ozsu and Valduriez). Easier and cost effective system expansion One of the most important advantages that organizations attain by implementing distributed databases is that it becomes easier for them to deal with increasing database sizes. In addition, overall system renovations are rarely essential; in fact this expansion can typically be managed by adding storage power and processing to the system. As discussed above that the localization of data improves the overall system performance as it reduces data access delays. As a result, it also minimizes overall cost. Basically, the cost that is required to distribute data and deliver from one location to another appears in the form of time (Ozsu and Valduriez). In conclusion, this paper has discussed some of the important aspects associated with the distributed databases. The research intended to discuss the history of distributed databases. Basically, the history of distributed databases starts from the need for the management of data for large organizations that operate in different locations. Before the emergence of distributed databases these businesses used centralized databases to run their businesses. However, they used different networks to take benefit of distributed databases from the centralized databases. This paper has discussed some benefits of distributed databases. In the future, there are more developments expected in the field of distributed databases. Works Cited Berg, Kristi, Tom Seymour and Richa Goel. "History Of Databases." International Journal of Management & Information Systems, Volume 17 Issue 1 (2013): 29-36. DuCharme, Larry. Distributed Databases. 2013. http://faculty.washington.edu/lducharm/Acc420/Ch9DDB.doc. 02 December 2013. Hoffer, Jeffrey A., Mary B. Prescott and Fred R. McFadden. Modern Database Management, Eighth Edition. Pearson Education, Inc., 2007. Holmes, Troy. What Is a Distributed Database? 30 October 2013. http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-distributed-database.htm. 02 December 2013. Ozsu, M. Tamer and Patrick Valduriez. "DISTRIBUTED DATABASE SYSTEMS: WHERE ARE WE NOW?" IEEE Computer, Volume 24 Issue 8 (1991): 1-18. Read More