A distributed database is a database in which storage devices are not all attached to a common processor. It may be stored in multiple computers, located in the same physical location, or dispersed over a network of interconnected computers. Unlike a centralized database, the distributed database is managed such that it appears as a single database to users.
Distributed databases are designed to manage large volumes of data across many networked computers, ensuring high availability, reliability, and scalable performance. This section covers the essential concepts, architectures, and functionalities of distributed databases.
Distributed database architecture includes:
The operations of distributed databases focus on several key areas:
Distributed databases are crucial in environments requiring high availability and performance, such as:
The main advantages of a distributed database include improved reliability and availability, enhanced performance through data localization, and increased scalability by distributing load across multiple nodes.
A distributed database ensures data consistency through mechanisms such as distributed transactions, two-phase commit protocols, and maintaining strict concurrency controls to manage access to data distributed across different nodes.
The main types of data replication include snapshot replication, transactional replication, and merge replication, each catering to different requirements of consistency and performance in distributed database environments.
Challenges include managing data consistency across nodes, handling partition tolerance and network issues, ensuring secure transactions, and overcoming the administrative complexities of managing a distributed system.
While distributed databases are typically scaled horizontally by adding more nodes, they can also scale vertically by upgrading the hardware capabilities of existing nodes, though this is less common due to the inherent design of distributed systems.
The network infrastructure plays a critical role in distributed databases as it affects the speed and reliability of data transmission between nodes, which directly impacts performance and consistency.
Distributed databases handle failures through techniques such as automatic failover, data replication, and using fault-tolerant components to ensure that the system remains operational even when one or more nodes fail.
No, while distributed databases offer many benefits, they are not suitable for all applications. They are best suited for applications that require high availability, scalability, and geographical distribution but may be overkill for small-scale or localized applications.
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