The implementation of a multi-backend database system (MDBS) part I: Software engineering strategies and efforts towards a prototype MDBS

Abstract

A backend multi-minicomputer database system, known as MDBS, has been proposed. MDBS utilizes one minicomputer as the master (or controller) and a varying number of minicomputers as slaves (or backends) which are configured in a novel and parallel fashion. MDBS is primarily designed to provide for database growth and performance enhancement by the addition of identical backends. The software architecture allows the backend addition without the need of new programming and reprogramming. Instead, the backend system software is replicated on the new backends for concurrent and parallel operations which in turn allow the database to grow and the performance to improve without an increased in software complexity. Prototypes of MDBS are being implemented in order to carry out design verification and performance evaluation of MDBS. As the first in a series of reports on the implementation, this report discusses the choice of hardware and operating system software. It also discusses the choice of the system programming language. The MDBS-I software system architecture is described in some detail. The appendices contain the detailed designs for the directory management subsystem, the database load subsystem and the test data generation program