Distributed Database Vs Centralized Database

Databases are the heart of the company. This is where all crucial company information is stored and can be accessed. Some databases are stored on site others in remote locations or using clouds. The information within a database can be manipulated in any way that the company needs it to be. Databases help to quickly search and retrieve information, it saves from data redundancy.

In a distributed database system, all the databases or the storage devices are not connected to a single common processing unit like CPU. The various data may be stored at different physical locations in multiple computers that are located in the same physical location; or they may be inter-connected over a network. In other words, distributed database system consists of various data locations but they do not share any physical components.

Centralized Data Management System and Database Server Hardware – This will be the central server in which data gathered by the tracking software will be uploaded to and downloaded from. All locations will have access to this hardware to share valuable customer information. This server will be used for customer data verification as well. It will also be the central sever in which data such as rewards program, points, purchases will be stored. The local database servers will have an Intel i5 processor, 8GB of RAM, and 2TB of storage to handle all the extra load and processing, while the central database server will have 4TB of storage.

A database is used to store collections of information and easily retrieved at a later date. The larger the amount of information, the more organized a database needs to be. A database is created with the requirements and needs of current and future users and most importantly, with past users and their information. Out book defines database systems as “an organization of components that define and regulate the collection, storage, management, and use of data within a database environment”. (Database Systems, 2013)

A database is defined as "an organised collection of data items which may be accessed by a database management system. The database may consist of several linked files". The school database will consist of a number of tables that hold information on students and related material.

Database is any collection of data or information, that is specially organized for rapid search and retrieval by a computer. Databases are structured to facilitate the storage, retrieval, modification, and deletion of data in conjunction with various data-processing operations.

Distributed databases: A distributed database system consists of loosely coupled sites that share no physical components.

Distributed database brings the advantages of distributed computing to the database management domain. A distributed computing system consists of the number of processing elements that are connected in the computer network which performing certain tasks.

In a centralized database, a server or a mainframe computer is used to store all the data of an organization. Through the Wide Area Network (WAN) users in distant locations access data using the application programs available for data access. The centralized database is ought to be able to accept and satisfy the entire requests that are received in the system, however, it could easily be crammed. Therefore, the ability to place every single data in its place can ease the process of maintaining and backing up. Moreover, when the data is stored in a centralized database, the outdated data is not available anymore in other places, so it makes it easier to maintain data integrity.

According to Andrew Tanenbaum “A distributed system is a collection of computers that appear to its users as a single coherent system.” (http://www.cs.helsinki.fi/u/alanko/hj/K06/kalvokopiot/ch1_p6.pdf) Almost every current company uses distributed systems connected to servers and even larger databases. Each of these companies connects their organization and its information through local area networks also connected through server farms managed by administrators. Server side operating systems provide the server or database administrator to manage use on different computers that share information.

A database is a “shared collection of logically related data designed to meet the information needs of multiple users in an organization” (Hoffer 709). Databases contain data records or files, such as sales transactions, product catalogs and inventories, and customer profiles. Databases allows multiple users in an organization to easily access, manage, store, and update data when needed.

We share many of the servers and allows a large amount of transactions in the database, the implementation of a distributed database architecture.

In the client server model, the clients tend to be computers or devices that connect to the server which refers to machines that stores resources that can be used by clients. It must be noted that the clients are dependent on the server as it is the central location where the data is shared and in terms of security, there is one user account and password that is needed to access the shared resources. In terms of performance, upgrades can be made to the server to cope with high demand. Backups are done on the main server.

Databases are fundamentally containers for data. When data for any organization needs to be stored, databases can be used. For example, let’s say a public library stores books, we could say that the library is a database of books. But specifically, databases are computer structures that save, organize, safeguard and produce and/or deliver data. A database platform is essentially a database management system (DBMS) which is a computer software application that interacts with the user, other applications, and with the database itself to capture and analyze data. A general-purpose DBMS is designed in a way to allow the definition, creation, querying, update, and administration of databases1. Before we dive deeper into databases and the types, we need to know the difference between what a database is and what a DBMS is so we don’t confuse ourselves.

Data organization has also become a simpler task thanks to modern technology. Companies can store their entire repository of data onto a simple database server. They can query this server for any bit of information they need within a few seconds. Not only beneficial for companies, home users are able to store their personal documents and photos securely on their PC’s as well as in an off-site “cloud” and not have any fear of losing this