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Distributed Shared Memory (DSM)

The document discusses Distributed Shared Memory (DSM), its architecture, algorithms, and design issues, highlighting how it allows multiple processors to share a coherent memory space despite being physically separate. It also covers distributed scheduling and load balancing, emphasizing the importance of efficient task allocation and the characteristics of good scheduling algorithms. Additionally, it addresses failure recovery and fault tolerance in distributed systems, outlining various algorithms and protocols for maintaining memory coherence and managing data access.

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0% found this document useful (0 votes)
20 views27 pages

Distributed Shared Memory (DSM)

The document discusses Distributed Shared Memory (DSM), its architecture, algorithms, and design issues, highlighting how it allows multiple processors to share a coherent memory space despite being physically separate. It also covers distributed scheduling and load balancing, emphasizing the importance of efficient task allocation and the characteristics of good scheduling algorithms. Additionally, it addresses failure recovery and fault tolerance in distributed systems, outlining various algorithms and protocols for maintaining memory coherence and managing data access.

Uploaded by

Sandhya
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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UNIT- 3: Distributed shared memory, Architecture, algorithms for implementing DSM, memory

coherence and protocols, design issues. Distributed Scheduling, introduction, issues in load
distributing, components of a load distributing algorithm, stability, load distributing algorithm,
performance comparison, selecting a suitable load sharing algorithm, requirements for load
distributing, task migration and associated issues. Failure Recovery and Fault tolerance:
introduction, basic concepts, classification of failures, backward and forward error recovery,
backward error recovery, recovery in concurrent systems, consistent set of check points,
synchronous and asynchronous check pointing and recovery, check pointing for distributed
database systems, recovery in replicated distributed databases.
DISTRIBUTED SHARED MEMORY (DSM)
Distributed Shared Memory (DSM) is a concept in computer architecture where multiple
physically separate processors appear to share a single, coherent memory space. This approach
allows processes running on different processors to communicate by reading and writing shared
variables, as if they were using a single shared memory system, even though the physical
memories are distributed across multiple machines.
Distributed Shared Memory (DSM) implements the distributed systems shared memory model in
a distributed system, that hasn’t any physically shared memory. Shared model provides a virtual
address area shared between any or all nodes. To beat the high forged of communication in
distributed system. DSM memo, model provides a virtual address area shared between all nodes.
systems move information to the placement of access. Information moves between main memory
and secondary memory (within a node) and between main recollections of various nodes.
Every Greek deity object is in hand by a node. The initial owner is that the node that created the
object. possession will amendment as the object moves from node to node. Once a method
accesses information within the shared address space, the mapping manager maps shared
memory address to physical memory (local or remote).
DSM permits programs running on separate reasons to share information while not the software
engineer having to agitate causation message instead underlying technology can send the
messages to stay the DSM consistent between compute. DSM permits programs that wont to
treat constant laptop to be simply tailored to control on separate reason. Programs access what
seems to them to be traditional memory.
Hence, programs that Pine Tree State DSM square measure sometimes shorter and easier to
grasp than programs that use message passing. But, DSM isn’t appropriate for all things. Client-
server systems square measure typically less suited to DSM, however, a server is also wont to
assist in providing DSM practicality for information shared between purchasers.
Architecture of Distributed Shared Memory (DSM) :
Every node consists of 1 or additional CPU’s and a memory unit. High-speed communication
network is employed for connecting the nodes. A straightforward message passing system
permits processes on completely different nodes to exchange one another.
Memory mapping manager unit :
Memory mapping manager routine in every node maps the native memory onto the shared
computer storage. For mapping operation, the shared memory house is divided into blocks.
Information caching may be a documented answer to deal with operation latency. DMA uses
information caching to scale back network latency. the most memory of the individual nodes is
employed to cache items of the shared memory house.
Memory mapping manager of every node reads its native memory as an enormous cache of the
shared memory house for its associated processors. The bass unit of caching may be a memory
block. Systems that support DSM, information moves between secondary memory and main
memory also as between main reminiscences of various nodes.
Communication Network Unit :
Once method access information within the shared address house mapping manager maps the
shared memory address to the physical memory. The mapped layer of code enforced either
within the operating kernel or as a runtime routine.
Physical memory on every node holds pages of shared virtual–address house. Native pages area
unit gift in some node’s memory. Remote pages in some other node’s memory.
Some advantages of DSM:
 Programming is a lot easier
 No need to deal with communication details.
 Easy to handle complex data structures
 DSM systems are much cheaper than tightly coupled multiprocessor systems (DSMs can
be built over commodity components).
 DSM takes advantages of the memory reference locality -- data are moved in the unit of
pages.
 DSM can form a large physical memory.
Programs for shared memory multiprocessors can easily be ported to DSMs

Shared memory is the memory block that can be accessed by more than one program. A shared
memory concept is used to provide a way of communication and provide less redundant memory
management.
Distributed Shared Memory abbreviated as DSM is the implementation of shared memory
concept in distributed systems. The DSM system implements the shared memory models in
loosely coupled systems that are deprived of a local physical shared memory in the system. In
this type of system distributed shared memory provides a virtual memory space that is accessible
by all the system (also known as nodes) of the distributed hierarchy.
Some common challenges that are to be kept in mind while the implementation of DSM −
Tracking of the memory address (location) of data stored remotely in shared memory.
To reduce the communication delays and high overhead associated with the references to remote
data.
Controlling the concurrent access of the data shared in DSM.
Based on these challenges there are algorithms designed to implement distributed shared
memory. There are four algorithms −
Central Server Algorithm
Migration Algorithm
Read Replication Algorithm
Full Replication Algorithm
Central Server Algorithm
All shared data is maintained by the central server. Other nodes of the distributed system request
for reading and writing data to the server which serves the request and updates or provides access
to the data along with acknowledgment messages.
These acknowledgment messages are used to provide the status of the data request is served by
the server. When the data is sent to the calling function, it acknowledges a number that shows the
access sequence of the data to maintain concurrency. And time-out is returned in case of failure.
For larger distributed systems, there can be more than one server. In this case, the servers are
located using their address or using mapping functions.

Migration Algorithm
As the name suggest the migration algorithm does the work of migration of data elements.
Instead of using a central server serving each request, the block containing the data requested by
a system is migrated to it for further access and processing. It migrates the data on request.
This algorithm though is good if when a system accesses the same block of data multiple times
and the ability to integrate virtual memory concept, has some shortcomings that are needed to be
addressed.
Only one node is able to access the shared data element at a time and the whole block is migrated
to that node. Also, this algorithm is more prone to thrashing due to the migration of data items
upon request by the node.

Read Replication Algorithm


In the read replication algorithm, the data block that is to be accessed is replicated and
only reading is allowed in all the copies. If a write operation is to be done, then all read access is
put on halt till all the copies are updated.
Overall system performance is improved as concurrent access is allowed. But write operation is
expensive due to the requirement of updating all blocks that are shared to maintain concurrency.
All copies of data element are to be tracked to maintain consistency.
Full Replication Algorithm
An extension to read the replication algorithm allowing the nodes to perform both read and
write operation on the shared block of concurrently. But this access of nodes is controlled to
maintain its consistency.
To maintain consistency of data on concurrent access of all nodes sequence is maintained and
after every modification that is made in the data a multicast with modifications is reflected all the
data copies.

memory coherence and protocols of DSM


Memory coherence in Distributed Shared Memory (DSM) systems refers to the consistency of
data across multiple processors that share a common memory space. Coherence protocols are
sets of rules and algorithms designed to maintain this consistency by managing the access and
updates to shared data. Here are some common memory coherence protocols used in DSM
systems:
Write-Once Protocol:
In this protocol, a processor is allowed to write to a shared location only once. Subsequent writes
are ignored. This simple approach avoids complex coherence issues but may limit the flexibility
of the system.
Write-Invalidate Protocol: :
a write to a shared data causes the invalidation of all copies except one before the write. These
protocols use invalidation messages to inform other processors that a shared variable has been
modified. When one processor writes to a shared location, invalidation messages are sent to all
other processors that have a copy of that location, causing them to invalidate their copies.
Examples include MESI (Modified, Exclusive, Shared, Invalid) protocol and MOESI (Modified,
Owned, Exclusive, Shared, Invalid) protocol.
Write-Update Protocol:
A write to a share data causes all copies of that data to be updated. Update-based protocols, also
known as "eager" protocols, involve sending the updated data to all processors that have a copy.
This approach minimizes the invalidation overhead but increases the communication traffic. The
Write-Broadcast protocol is an example of an update-based approach.

Design and Implementation Issue of Distributed Shared Memory

DSM is a mechanism that manages memory across multiple nodes and makes inter-process
communications transparent to end-users. To design information shared memory we might deal
with certain issues which are called issues.
Issues to Design and Implementation of DSM:
Granularity
Structure of shared memory space
Memory coherence and access synchronization
Data location and access
Replacement strategy
Thrashing
Heterogeneity
1. Granularity: Granularity refers to the block size of a DSM system. Granularity refers to the
unit of sharing and the unit of data moving across the network when a network block
shortcoming then we can utilize the estimation of the block size as words/phrases. The block size
might be different for the various networks.
2.Structure of shared memory space: Structure refers to the design of the shared data in the
memory. The structure of the shared memory space of a DSM system is regularly dependent on
the sort of applications that the DSM system is intended to support.
3. Memory coherence and access synchronization: In the DSM system the shared data things
ought to be accessible by different nodes simultaneously in the network. The fundamental issue
in this system is data irregularity. The data irregularity might be raised by the synchronous
access. To solve this problem in the DSM system we need to utilize some synchronization
primitives, semaphores, event count, and so on.
4. Data location and access: To share the data in the DSM system it ought to be possible to
locate and retrieve the data as accessed by clients or processors. Therefore, the DSM system
must implement some form of data block finding system to serve network data to meet the
requirement of the memory coherence semantics being utilized.
5. Replacement strategy: In the local memory of the node is full, a cache miss at the node
implies not just a get of the gotten to information block from a remote node but also a
replacement. A data block of the local memory should be replaced by the new data block.
Accordingly, a position substitution methodology is additionally vital in the design of a DSM
system.
6. Thrashing: In a DSM system data blocks move between nodes on demand. In this way on the
off chance that 2 nodes compete for write access to the single data item. The data relating data
block might be moved to back and forth at such a high rate that no genuine work can get gone.
The DSM system should utilize an approach to keep away from a situation generally known as
thrashing.
7. Heterogeneity: The DSM system worked for homogeneous systems and need not address the
heterogeneity issue. In any case, assuming the underlined system environment is heterogeneous,
the DSM system should be designed to deal with heterogeneous, so it works appropriately with
machines having different architectures.

Scheduling and Load Balancing in Distributed System


Distributed scheduling is a concept in computer science and distributed systems that involves the
allocation of computing resources across multiple nodes or processors in a network. The goal is
to efficiently and effectively manage the execution of tasks or processes in a distributed
environment.

In this article, we will go through the concept of scheduling and load balancing in distributed
systems in detail.
Scheduling in Distributed Systems:
The techniques that are used for scheduling the processes in distributed systems are as follows:
Task Assignment Approach: In the Task Assignment Approach, the user-submitted process is
composed of multiple related tasks which are scheduled to appropriate nodes in a system to
improve the performance of a system as a whole.
Load Balancing Approach: In the Load Balancing Approach, as the name implies, the workload
is balanced among the nodes of the system.
Load Sharing Approach: In the Load Sharing Approach, it is assured that no node would be idle
while processes are waiting for their processing.
Note: The Task Assignment Approach finds less applicability
practically as it assumes that characteristics of processes
like inter-process communication cost, etc. must be known in advance.
Characteristics of a Good Scheduling Algorithm:
The following are the required characteristics of a Good Scheduling Algorithm:
The scheduling algorithms that require prior knowledge about the properties and resource
requirements of a process submitted by a user put a burden on the user. Hence, a good
scheduling algorithm does not require prior specification regarding the user-submitted process.
A good scheduling algorithm must exhibit the dynamic scheduling of processes as the initial
allocation of the process to a system might need to be changed with time to balance the load of
the system.
The algorithm must be flexible enough to process migration decisions when there is a change in
the system load.
The algorithm must possess stability so that processors can be utilized optimally. It is possible
only when thrashing overhead gets minimized and there should no wastage of time in process
migration.
An algorithm with quick decision making is preferable such as heuristic methods that take less
time due to less computational work give near-optimal results in comparison to an exhaustive
search that provides an optimal solution but takes more time.
A good scheduling algorithm gives balanced system performance by maintaining minimum
global state information as global state information (CPU load) is directly proportional to
overhead. So, with the increase in global state information overhead also increases.
The algorithm should not be affected by the failure of one or more nodes of the system.
Furthermore, even if the link fails and nodes of a group get separated into two or more groups
then also it should not break down. So, the algorithm must possess decentralized decision-
making capability in which consideration is given only to the available nodes for taking a
decision and thus, providing fault tolerance.
A good scheduling algorithm has the property of being scalable. It is flexible for scaling when
the number of nodes increases in a system. If an algorithm opts for a strategy in which it inquires
about the workload of all nodes and then selects the one with the least load then it is not
considered a good approach because it leads to poor scalability as it will not work well for a
system having many nodes. The reason is that the inquirer receives a lot many replies almost
simultaneously and the processing time spent for reply messages is too long for a node selection
with the increase in several nodes (N). A straightforward way is to examine only m of N nodes.
A good scheduling algorithm must be having fairness of service because in an attempt to balance
the workload on all nodes of the system there might be a possibility that nodes with more load
get more benefit as compared to nodes with less load because they suffer from poor response
time than stand-alone systems. Hence, the solution lies in the concept of load sharing in which a
node can share some of its resources until the user is not affected.
Load Balancing in Distributed Systems:
The Load Balancing approach refers to the division of load among the processing elements of a
distributed system. The excess load of one processing element is distributed to other processing
elements that have less load according to the defined limits. In other words, the load is
maintained at each processing element in such a manner that neither it gets overloaded nor idle
during the execution of a program to maximize the system throughput which is the ultimate goal
of distributed systems. This approach makes all processing elements equally busy thus speeding
up the entire task leads to the completion of the task by all processors approximately at the same
time.
Types of Load Balancing Algorithms:
Static Load Balancing Algorithm: In the Static Load Balancing Algorithm, while distributing
load the current state of the system is not taken into account. These algorithms are simpler in
comparison to dynamic load balancing algorithms. Types of Static Load Balancing Algorithms
are as follows:
Deterministic: In Deterministic Algorithms, the properties of nodes and processes are taken into
account for the allocation of processes to nodes. Because of the deterministic characteristic of the
algorithm, it is difficult to optimize to give better results and also costs more to implement.
Probabilistic: n Probabilistic Algorithms, Statistical attributes of the system are taken into
account such as several nodes, topology, etc. to make process placement rules. It does not give
better performance.
Dynamic Load Balancing Algorithm: Dynamic Load Balancing Algorithm takes into account
the current load of each node or computing unit in the system, allowing for faster processing by
dynamically redistributing workloads away from overloaded nodes and toward underloaded
nodes. Dynamic algorithms are significantly more difficult to design, but they can give superior
results, especially when execution durations for distinct jobs vary greatly. Furthermore, because
dedicated nodes for task distribution are not required, a dynamic load balancing architecture is
frequently more modular. Types of Dynamic Load Balancing Algorithms are as follows:
Centralized: In Centralized Load Balancing Algorithms, the task of handling requests for process
scheduling is carried out by a centralized server node. The benefit of this approach is efficiency
as all the information is held at a single node but it suffers from the reliability problem because
of the lower fault tolerance. Moreover, there is another problem with the increasing number of
requests.
Distributed: In Distributed Load Balancing Algorithms, the decision task of assigning processes
is distributed physically to the individual nodes of the system. Unlike Centralized Load
Balancing Algorithms, there is no need to hold state information. Hence, speed is fast.
Types of Distributed Load Balancing Algorithms:
Cooperative In Cooperative Load Balancing Algorithms, as the name implies, scheduling
decisions are taken with the cooperation of entities in the system. The benefit lies in the stability
of this approach. The drawback is the complexity involved which leads to more overhead than
Non-cooperative algorithms.
Non-cooperative: In Non-cooperative Load Balancing Algorithms, scheduling decisions are
taken by the individual entities of the system as they act as autonomous entities. The benefit is
that minor overheads are involved due to the basic nature of non-cooperation. The drawback is
that these algorithms might be less stable than Cooperative algorithms.
Issues in Designing Load-balancing Algorithms:
Many issues need to be taken into account while designing Load-balancing Algorithms:
Load Estimation Policies: Determination of a load of a node in a distributed system.
Process Transfer Policies: Decides for the execution of process: local or remote.
State Information Exchange: Determination of strategy for exchanging system load
information among the nodes in a distributed system.
Location Policy: Determining the selection of destination nodes for the migration of the process.
Priority Assignment: Determines whether the priority is given to a local or a remote process on
a node for execution.
Migration limit policy: Determines the limit value for the migration of processes.
Components of Load Distributing Algorithm :
A load distributing algorithm has 4 components –
Transfer Policy –
Determine whether or not a node is in a suitable state for a task transfer.
Process Selection Policy –
Determines the task to be transferred.
Site Location Policy –
Determines the node to which a task should be transferred to when it is selected for transfer.
Information Policy –
It is in-charge of initiating the gathering of system state data.
A transfer policy requires information on the local nodes state to make the decisions. A location
policy requires information on the states of the remote nodes to make the decision.
1. Transfer Policy –
Threshold policies make up a substantial portion of transfer policies. The threshold is measured
in units of load. The transfer policy determines that a node is a Sender when a new task begins at
that node and the load at the node exceeds a threshold T. If the node’s load falls below T, the
transfer policy determines that the node can be used as a remote task recipient.
2. Selection Policy –
A selection policy decides which task in the node should be transferred (as determined by the
transfer policy). If the selection policy cannot locate an appropriate job in the node, the transfer
procedure is halted until the transfer policy signals that the site is a sender again. The selection
policy selects a task for transfer after the transfer policy decides that the node is a sender.
The most straightforward method is to choose a recently generated task that has led the node to
become a sender by exceeding the load threshold.
On the other way, a job is only transferred if its response time improves as a result of the
transfer.
Other criteria to consider in a task selection approach are: first, the overhead imposed by the
transfer should be as low as possible, and second, the number of location-dependent calls made
by the selected task should be as low as possible.
3. Location Policy –
The location policy’s job is to discover suitable nodes for sharing. After the transfer policy has
determined that a task should be transmitted, the location policy must determine where the task
should be sent. This will be based on data collected through the information policy. Polling is a
widely used approach for locating a suitable node. In polling, a node polls another node to see if
it is a suitable load-sharing node. Nodes can be polled sequentially or concurrently. A site polls
other sites in a sequential or parallel manner to see whether they are acceptable for a transfer
and/or if they are prepared to accept one. For polling, nodes could be chosen at random or more
selectively depending on information obtained during prior polls. It’s possible that the number of
sites polled will change.
4. Information Policy –
The information policy is in charge of determining when information regarding the states of the
other nodes in the system should be collected. Most information policies fall into one of three
categories:

Demand – driven –
Using sender initiated or receiver initiated polling techniques, a node obtains the state of other
nodes only when it desires to get involved in either sending or receiving tasks. Because their
actions are dependent on the status of the system, demand-driven policies are inherently adaptive
and dynamic. The policy here can be sender initiative : sender looks for receivers to transfer the
load, receiver initiated – receivers solicit load from the senders and symmetrically initiated – a
combination of both sender & receiver initiated.
Periodic –
At regular intervals, nodes exchange data. To inform localization algorithms, each site will have
a significant history of global resource utilization over time. At large system loads, the benefits
of load distribution are negligible, and the periodic exchange of information may thus be an
unnecessary overhead.
State – change – driven –
When a node’s state changes by a specific amount, it sends out state information. This data
could be forwarded to a centralized load scheduling point or shared with peers. It does not collect
information about other nodes like demand-driven policy. This policy does not alter its
operations in response to changes in system state. For example, if the system is already
overloaded, exchanging system state information on a regular basis will exacerbate the problem.

stability, load distributing algorithm, performance comparison


ChatGPT
ChatGPT
When comparing load distributing algorithms in the context of stability and performance, several
factors come into play. It's essential to consider how well the algorithm maintains system
stability, achieves load balance, and performs in terms of responsiveness and resource utilization.
Here's a breakdown of aspects to consider:
Stability:
Consistency in Load Balancing:
A stable load distributing algorithm should consistently balance the load across nodes,
preventing situations where some nodes are heavily loaded while others remain underutilized.
This contributes to the stability of the overall system.
Adaptability to Changes:
The algorithm should be able to adapt to dynamic changes in the system, such as varying
workloads, node failures, or additions/removals of nodes. A stable algorithm should prevent load
imbalances and disruptions even in the face of these changes.
Fault Tolerance:
Stability is closely tied to fault tolerance. The algorithm should be capable of detecting and
handling node failures effectively, redistributing tasks to healthy nodes to maintain overall
stability.
Load Balancing Performance:
Minimization of Load Imbalance:
A good load distributing algorithm should aim to minimize load imbalances across nodes,
ensuring that each node contributes equally to the overall computation. Imbalances can lead to
suboptimal performance and resource utilization.
Minimization of Communication Overhead:
Efficient load balancing should minimize unnecessary communication between nodes. Excessive
communication can introduce latency and reduce the overall efficiency of the system.
Algorithms should strike a balance between load awareness and communication overhead.
Dynamic Adaptation to Workload Changes:
Performance is enhanced when the algorithm can dynamically adapt to changes in workload
patterns. Load distributing algorithms with predictive capabilities can proactively distribute tasks
to prevent future load imbalances.
Resource Utilization:
Optimal Resource Utilization:
A high-performing load distributing algorithm should ensure optimal resource utilization across
nodes. This involves effectively leveraging the computational capabilities of each node without
causing underutilization or overload.
Scalability:
The algorithm's performance should scale well as the system grows, accommodating an
increasing number of nodes and tasks without introducing bottlenecks or degrading performance.
Minimization of Response Time:
Load distributing algorithms impact the response time of the system. Effective algorithms
distribute tasks in a way that minimizes response times across all nodes, providing a more
responsive and efficient overall system.
Adaptability and Versatility:
Adaptability to Different Workloads:
The algorithm's ability to adapt to various types of workloads, whether they are CPU-intensive,
memory-intensive, or a combination, contributes to its versatility.
Suitability for Heterogeneous Environments:
Heterogeneous environments with nodes of different capabilities require algorithms that can
adapt to and leverage the diverse resources available.
Ease of Integration:
A good load distributing algorithm should be easy to integrate into different distributed systems
and should not introduce significant complexities that hinder deployment.
In conclusion, the comparison of load distributing algorithms should involve a comprehensive
evaluation of their stability, load balancing performance, resource utilization, and adaptability to
different scenarios. The choice of the most suitable algorithm will depend on the specific
characteristics of the distributed system, the nature of the tasks, and the performance goals of the
application.

You
selecting a suitable load sharing algorithm, requirements for load distributing, task migration and
associated issues
ChatGPT
ChatGPT
Selecting a suitable load-sharing algorithm and designing an effective load-distributing system
involves considering various factors and requirements. Additionally, task migration plays a
crucial role in load distribution, but it introduces its own set of challenges. Here's a breakdown of
considerations for selecting a load-sharing algorithm, requirements for load distribution, and
associated issues with task migration:
Selecting a Load-Sharing Algorithm:
System Characteristics:
Consider the characteristics of the distributed system, including the number of nodes, their
capabilities, and the communication infrastructure. Some algorithms may be better suited for
homogeneous environments, while others are designed for heterogeneous systems.
Task Granularity:
Assess the nature of the tasks or workloads to be distributed. Fine-grained tasks may benefit
from algorithms that minimize communication overhead, while coarse-grained tasks may be
more suitable for algorithms that prioritize load balancing.
Communication Overhead:
Evaluate the communication overhead introduced by the load-sharing algorithm. Efficient
algorithms should minimize unnecessary communication between nodes to avoid latency and
ensure effective load balancing.
Adaptability:
Choose algorithms that can adapt to dynamic changes in the system, such as varying workloads,
node failures, or additions/removals of nodes. Adaptive algorithms can provide more robust load
distribution.
Load Prediction:
Consider algorithms that incorporate load prediction mechanisms. Predictive algorithms can
anticipate changes in workload and make proactive load distribution decisions to prevent
imbalances.
Scalability:
Assess the scalability of the algorithm to ensure it can handle an increasing number of nodes and
tasks without introducing bottlenecks or degrading performance.
Fault Tolerance:
Evaluate the algorithm's ability to handle node failures and maintain load balance in the presence
of faults. Fault-tolerant load-sharing mechanisms should redistribute tasks to healthy nodes.
Global vs. Local Knowledge:
Decide whether the algorithm requires global knowledge of the entire system or can operate with
local knowledge limited to information about neighboring nodes. The choice impacts the
complexity and efficiency of the algorithm.
Requirements for Load Distribution:
Load Balancing Policies:
Define load balancing policies based on the goals of the system. Policies may include
minimizing variance in node workloads, reducing response time, optimizing resource utilization,
or achieving specific performance metrics.
Communication Mechanism:
Establish efficient communication mechanisms between nodes. The communication protocol
should facilitate the exchange of information about current load and task execution status.
Adaptability to Workload Changes:
Ensure the load distribution system can adapt to changes in workload patterns. This involves the
ability to dynamically adjust task assignments in response to variations in computational
demands.
Dynamic Workload Management:
Implement mechanisms for dynamically managing workloads, including load shedding (if
applicable) during peak periods and redistributing tasks during periods of low activity.
Task Migration and Associated Issues:
Task Granularity and Overhead:
Determine the appropriate granularity for migrating tasks. Fine-grained migrations may incur
more overhead due to communication costs, while coarse-grained migrations may lead to longer
response times.
Communication Latency:
Task migration introduces communication latency as tasks are transferred between nodes.
Minimizing latency is crucial for maintaining system responsiveness.
Consistency and Coherence:
Ensure the consistency and coherence of data when migrating tasks. Synchronize data between
source and destination nodes to prevent inconsistencies and maintain a coherent state.
Impact on Performance:
Evaluate the impact of task migration on overall system performance. Excessive migration may
introduce overhead and negate the benefits of load balancing.
Fault Tolerance in Migration:
Implement fault-tolerant mechanisms for task migration to handle potential failures during the
migration process. This involves ensuring that tasks can be rolled back or resumed in case of
unexpected events.
Resource Constraints:
Consider resource constraints during task migration, such as memory limitations and network
bandwidth. Migrating tasks should not overwhelm the resources of the destination node.
Dynamic Adaptation:
Design task migration mechanisms that dynamically adapt to changes in the system, such as
node failures or additions. The migration system should seamlessly adjust to maintain load
balance.
Energy Efficiency:
Assess the energy efficiency implications of task migration. Minimizing unnecessary migrations
can contribute to energy savings, especially in resource-constrained environments.
In summary, selecting a suitable load-sharing algorithm involves considering system
characteristics, communication overhead, adaptability, and other factors. Load distribution
requirements include defining policies, managing dynamic workloads, and ensuring efficient
communication. Task migration introduces challenges related to granularity, latency,
consistency, and fault tolerance, and these issues must be carefully addressed to optimize overall
system performance.

Failure Recovery and Fault tolerance


ChatGPT
ChatGPT
Failure recovery and fault tolerance are critical aspects of designing distributed systems to ensure
their resilience and availability. Here's an overview of these concepts:
Fault Tolerance:
Definition:
Fault tolerance is the ability of a system to continue functioning and providing services in the
presence of faults, errors, or failures. It involves designing the system to gracefully handle and
recover from unexpected issues without complete disruption.
Fault Types:
Transient Faults: Temporary issues that can be resolved by retrying the operation. Examples
include network glitches or temporary unavailability of resources.
Permanent Faults: Long-lasting or permanent issues, such as hardware failures or software
bugs.
Redundancy:
Fault-tolerant systems often incorporate redundancy, which means having backup components or
resources that can take over in case of a failure. Redundancy helps maintain system functionality
even when some components fail.
Replication:
Replicating data or services across multiple nodes or servers is a common strategy for fault
tolerance. If one node fails, another replica can take over, ensuring continued service availability.
Checkpointing:
Checkpointing involves creating periodic snapshots of the system's state. In case of a failure, the
system can be rolled back to a consistent state based on the last checkpoint, minimizing data loss.
Failure Detection:
Timely detection of failures is crucial for initiating recovery processes. Heartbeat mechanisms,
monitoring, and health checks are employed to identify failed components and trigger
appropriate actions.
Isolation:
Isolation involves containing the impact of a failure to prevent it from spreading throughout the
system. This can be achieved through the use of containers, microservices, or other techniques
that limit the scope of failures.
Failure Recovery:
Recovery Strategies:
Rollback: Returning the system to a previous consistent state, often using checkpoints.
Retry: Reattempting the failed operation after a brief delay, especially for transient faults.
Redundancy Activation: Switching to redundant components or replicas to maintain service
availability.
Graceful Degradation: Reducing system functionality to a minimal operational state to
continue providing essential services.
Automated Recovery:
Automated recovery mechanisms, such as self-healing systems, can automatically detect failures
and initiate recovery processes without manual intervention. Automation is critical for rapid
response to faults.
Logging and Auditing:
Comprehensive logging and auditing help in understanding the cause of failures and aid in the
recovery process. Logs can be analyzed to identify patterns leading to failures and to improve
system resilience.
Redundancy Activation:
In systems with redundant components or services, the activation of backups or replicas can be
part of the recovery process. This ensures continuity of service without a significant impact on
end-users.
Graceful Degradation:
Systems should be designed to gracefully degrade in the face of failures, providing essential
services even if some components are not fully operational. This approach helps minimize the
impact on users during a failure.
Manual Intervention:
In some cases, manual intervention may be required for complex or critical failures. Procedures
and documentation for manual recovery should be in place to guide administrators or operators.
Both fault tolerance and failure recovery strategies depend on the specific characteristics of the
distributed system, the nature of the applications, and the desired level of service availability. A
well-designed system considers various fault scenarios, employs appropriate fault tolerance
mechanisms, and implements effective recovery strategies to ensure continuous operation and
data integrity.
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Various Failures in Distributed System


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DSM implements distributed systems shared memory model in an exceedingly distributed


system, that hasn’t any physically shared memory. The shared model provides a virtual address
space shared between any numbers of nodes. The DSM system hides the remote communication
mechanism from the appliance author, protecting the programming ease and quality typical of
shared-memory systems.
These are explained as following below.
1. Method failure :
In this type of failure, the distributed system is generally halted and unable to perform the
execution. Sometimes it leads to ending up the execution resulting in an associate incorrect
outcome. Method failure causes the system state to deviate from specifications, and also method
might fail to progress.
Behavior –
It may be understood as if incorrect computation like Protection violation, deadlocks, timeout,
user input, etc is performed then the method stops its execution.
Recovery –
Method failure can be prevented by aborting the method or restarting it from its prior state.
2. System failure :
In system failure, the processor associated with the distributed system fails to perform the
execution. This is caused by computer code errors and hardware issues. Hardware issues may
involve CPU/memory/bus failure. This is assumed that whenever the system stops its execution
due to some fault then the interior state is lost.
Behavior –
It is concerned with physical and logical units of the processor. The system may freeze, reboot
and also it does not perform any functioning leading it to go in an idle state.
Recovery –
This can be cured by rebooting the system as soon as possible and configuring the failure point
and wrong state.
3. Secondary storage device failure :
A storage device failure is claimed to have occurred once the keep information can’t be accessed.
This failure is sometimes caused by parity error, head crash, or dirt particles settled on the
medium.
Behavior –
Stored information can’t be accessed.
Errors inflicting failure –
Parity error, head crash, etc.
Recovery/Design strategies –
Reconstruct content from the archive and the log of activities and style reflected disk system. A
system failure will additionally be classified as follows.
Associate cognitive state failure
A partial cognitive state failure
a disruption failure
A halting failure
4. Communication medium failure :
A communication medium failure happens once a web site cannot communicate with another
operational site within the network. it’s typically caused by the failure of the shift nodes and/or
the links of the human activity system.
Behavior –
A web site cannot communicate with another operational site.
Errors/Faults –
Failure of shift nodes or communication links.
Recovery/Design strategies –
Reroute, error-resistant communication protocols.
Failure Models:
1. Timing failure:
Timing failure occurs when a node in a system correctly sends a response, but the response
arrives earlier or later than anticipated. Timing failures, also known as performance failures,
occur when a node delivers a response that is either earlier or later than anticipated.
2. Response failure:
When a server’s response is flawed, a response failure occurs. The response’s value could be
off or transmitted using the inappropriate control flow.
3. Omission failure:
A timing issue known as an “infinite late” or omission failure occurs when the node’s answer
never appears to have been sent.
4. Crash failure:
If a node encounters an omission failure once and then totally stops responding and goes
unresponsive, this is known as a crash failure.
5. Arbitrary failure :
A server may produce arbitrary response at arbitrary times.

Recovery in Distributed Systems


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Pre-requisites: Distributed System


Recovery from an error is essential to fault tolerance, and error is a component of a system that
could result in failure. The whole idea of error recovery is to replace an erroneous state with an
error-free state. Error recovery can be broadly divided into two categories.
1. Backward Recovery:
Moving the system from its current state back into a formerly accurate condition from an
incorrect one is the main challenge in backward recovery. It will be required to accomplish this
by periodically recording the system’s state and restoring it when something goes wrong. A
checkpoint is deemed to have been reached each time (part of) the system’s current state is
noted.
2. Forward Recovery:
Instead of returning the system to a previous, checkpointed state in this instance when it has
entered an incorrect state, an effort is made to place the system in a correct new state from which
it can continue to operate. The fundamental issue with forward error recovery techniques is that
potential errors must be anticipated in advance. Only then is it feasible to change those mistakes
and transfer to a new state.
Backward-error recovery is simpler than forwarding error recovery as it is independent of the
fault and the errors caused by the fault. Thus, a system can recover from an arbitrary fault by
restoring to a previous state. The major problems associated with the backward error,
Performance penalty: The overhead to restore a process state to a prior state can be quite high
There is no guarantee that faults will not occur again when processing begins from a prior state
Some component of the system may be unrecoverable
The forward- error recovery technique on the other hand, incurs less overhead because only
those parts of the state that deviate from the intended value need to be corrected.
Recovery With Concurrent Transactions
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Concurrency control means that multiple transactions can be executed at the same time and then
the interleaved logs occur. But there may be changes in transaction results so maintain the order
of execution of those transactions.
During recovery, it would be very difficult for the recovery system to backtrack all the logs and
then start recovering.
Recovery with concurrent transactions can be done in the following four ways.
Interaction with concurrency control
Transaction rollback
Checkpoints
Restart recovery
Interaction with concurrency control :
In this scheme, the recovery scheme depends greatly on the concurrency control scheme that is
used. So, to rollback a failed transaction, we must undo the updates performed by the transaction.
Transaction rollback :
In this scheme, we rollback a failed transaction by using the log.
The system scans the log backward a failed transaction, for every log record found in the log the
system restores the data item.
Checkpoints :
Checkpoints is a process of saving a snapshot of the applications state so that it can restart from
that point in case of failure.
Checkpoint is a point of time at which a record is written onto the database form the buffers.
Checkpoint shortens the recovery process.
When it reaches the checkpoint, then the transaction will be updated into the database, and till
that point, the entire log file will be removed from the file. Then the log file is updated with the
new step of transaction till the next checkpoint and so on.
The checkpoint is used to declare the point before which the DBMS was in the consistent state,
and all the transactions were committed.
To ease this situation, ‘Checkpoints‘ Concept is used by the most DBMS.
In this scheme, we used checkpoints to reduce the number of log records that the system must
scan when it recovers from a crash.
In a concurrent transaction processing system, we require that the checkpoint log record be of the
form <checkpoint L>, where ‘L’ is a list of transactions active at the time of the checkpoint.
A fuzzy checkpoint is a checkpoint where transactions are allowed to perform updates even
while buffer blocks are being written out.
Restart recovery :
When the system recovers from a crash, it constructs two lists.
The undo-list consists of transactions to be undone, and the redo-list consists of transaction to be
redone.
The system constructs the two lists as follows: Initially, they are both empty. The system scans
the log backward, examining each record, until it finds the first <checkpoint> record.

recovery in concurrent systems, consistent set of check points


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Recovery in concurrent systems involves strategies for restoring the system to a consistent and
correct state after a failure has occurred. One key technique used in concurrent systems for
recovery is the concept of consistent sets of checkpoints. Checkpoints are snapshots of the
system's state taken at specific points in time, and consistency in this context refers to the ability
to recover the system to a coherent and logically correct state. Here's an overview of recovery in
concurrent systems and the importance of consistent sets of checkpoints:
Recovery in Concurrent Systems:
Checkpointing:
Definition: Checkpointing involves capturing a snapshot of the system's state at a specific point
in time.
Purpose: Checkpoints are essential for recovery. In the event of a failure, the system can be
rolled back to a consistent checkpoint to resume normal operation.
Logging:
Definition: Logging involves recording information about transactions, operations, or changes
made to the system in a log.
Purpose: Logs provide a record of the system's history, enabling recovery by replaying or
undoing operations recorded in the log.
Recovery Techniques:
Rollback Recovery: In case of a failure, the system rolls back to a consistent checkpoint, and
transactions are either re-executed or undone based on the log.
Forward Recovery: Forward recovery involves continuing from the last consistent state and
reapplying operations from the log to bring the system to the present.
Consistency Guarantees:
Atomicity: Transactions are either fully executed or fully rolled back to ensure atomicity.
Durability: Changes made to the system are recorded in durable storage (logs) to ensure
recovery durability.
Isolation: Consistent checkpoints and logs help maintain isolation among concurrent
transactions.
Consistent Sets of Checkpoints:
Definition:
A consistent set of checkpoints is a collection of checkpoints taken at different points in time
such that, when recovering from a failure, the system can be restored to a coherent and logically
correct state.
Global Synchronization:
Achieving a consistent set of checkpoints often requires global synchronization among the
concurrent processes or nodes in the system.
All processes agree on when to take checkpoints to ensure that they collectively form a
consistent set.
Coordinated Checkpointing:
In coordinated checkpointing, processes or nodes coordinate to take checkpoints simultaneously.
This may involve reaching a global synchronization point, freezing activities, and then taking
coordinated checkpoints.
Dependency Tracking:
Checkpoints must consider dependencies among transactions and processes to ensure that, when
recovering, the system can be rolled back to a point where all dependencies are satisfied.
Log Consistency:
Logs must be consistent with the checkpoints to ensure that the recorded operations match the
state of the system at the time of the checkpoint.
Quiescent States:
Achieving a consistent set often involves ensuring that processes or nodes are in quiescent states
(idle or consistent) before taking a checkpoint.
Challenges:
Overhead:
Coordinated checkpointing introduces overhead, as processes must synchronize and temporarily
cease activities to capture a consistent snapshot.
Scalability:
Achieving consistency in large-scale and highly distributed systems can be challenging due to
the need for global synchronization.
Recovery Time:
The time required to recover the system is influenced by the granularity of checkpoints and the
efficiency of recovery mechanisms.
Rollback Complexity:
Handling dependencies and ensuring a consistent rollback of transactions during recovery can be
complex, especially in systems with long-running transactions.
Summary:
Recovery in concurrent systems involves the use of consistent sets of checkpoints to ensure that
the system can be reliably restored to a logically correct state after a failure. Coordinated
checkpointing and careful logging mechanisms play crucial roles in achieving this consistency.
The design and implementation of recovery mechanisms need to strike a balance between
overhead, scalability, and the desired recovery time based on the characteristics and requirements
of the concurrent system.

synchronous and asynchronous check pointing and recovery


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Synchronous and asynchronous checkpointing are two strategies used in distributed systems for
capturing the system's state at different points in time, enabling recovery from failures.
Checkpointing is a critical component of fault tolerance, allowing systems to roll back to a
consistent state in the event of a failure.
Synchronous Checkpointing:
Definition:
In synchronous checkpointing, all processes in a distributed system take a checkpoint at the same
global time, ensuring a globally consistent state.
Global Synchronization:
Processes synchronize to initiate a checkpoint at a coordinated time. This often involves a global
synchronization barrier where processes collectively agree to take a checkpoint.
Communication Freeze:
During synchronous checkpointing, communication is temporarily frozen to ensure that all
messages are delivered and acknowledged before the checkpoint is taken. This ensures a
consistent global state.
Algorithmic Complexity:
Synchronous checkpointing algorithms tend to be more complex due to the need for global
synchronization and coordination among processes.
Overhead:
The freeze in communication and the need for synchronization introduce overhead, impacting
the system's performance during the checkpointing process.
Message Logging:
In addition to taking a snapshot of the process states, synchronous checkpointing often involves
logging messages to ensure proper recovery.
Asynchronous Checkpointing:
Definition:
In asynchronous checkpointing, processes independently take checkpoints at different times,
without global synchronization. Each process decides when to take a checkpoint based on its
local conditions.
No Global Synchronization:
Asynchronous checkpointing does not require a global synchronization barrier. Each process can
independently initiate a checkpoint when it deems appropriate.
Communication Continues:
Communication can continue during the checkpointing process, and processes are not required to
freeze message exchange. This reduces the impact on the system's overall performance.
Algorithmic Simplicity:
Asynchronous checkpointing algorithms are often simpler than their synchronous counterparts
because they do not require global coordination.
Overhead:
Asynchronous checkpointing tends to have lower overhead since processes can continue their
normal operation without waiting for global synchronization.
Message Logging:
In asynchronous checkpointing, message logging is often still employed to ensure proper
recovery. However, the timing of logging can vary between processes.
Checkpoint Recovery:
Rollback to Checkpoint:
In both synchronous and asynchronous checkpointing, the recovery process involves rolling back
the system to a previously recorded checkpoint in the event of a failure.
State and Message Restoration:
Upon recovery, the system restores the process states to the checkpointed states and replays
logged messages to reconstruct the exact state of the system before the failure.
Consistency Guarantee:
Both checkpointing strategies aim to provide consistency guarantees during the recovery process,
ensuring that the system resumes from a consistent state.
Recovery Time:
The recovery time may vary between synchronous and asynchronous checkpointing.
Synchronous recovery might take longer due to the global synchronization, while asynchronous
recovery can potentially be quicker.
Considerations for Choosing:
Synchronization Overhead:
Synchronous Checkpointing: Introduces higher synchronization overhead.
Asynchronous Checkpointing: Has lower synchronization overhead.
Algorithmic Complexity:
Synchronous Checkpointing: Often involves more complex algorithms.
Asynchronous Checkpointing: Tends to have simpler algorithms.
Performance Impact:
Synchronous Checkpointing: May have a more noticeable impact on system performance
during checkpointing.
Asynchronous Checkpointing: Minimizes impact on ongoing system operations.
Communication Freeze:
Synchronous Checkpointing: Requires communication freeze during the checkpointing
process.
Asynchronous Checkpointing: Permits continued communication during checkpointing.
Message Logging:
Both Strategies: Involve message logging to ensure consistent recovery.
The choice between synchronous and asynchronous checkpointing depends on the specific
requirements, system characteristics, and performance considerations of the distributed system.
Each approach has its advantages and trade-offs, and the decision should be made based on the
goals and constraints of the application and environment.

check pointing for distributed database systems


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Checkpointing in distributed database systems is a critical aspect of ensuring data consistency
and system recoverability in the event of failures. Distributed databases often involve multiple
nodes and transactions that may span across these nodes. Checkpointing mechanisms help create
consistent snapshots of the system's state, which can be used for recovery in case of failures.
Here are key considerations and techniques for checkpointing in distributed database systems:
Considerations for Checkpointing in Distributed Database Systems:
Consistency Across Nodes:
Checkpointing in distributed databases must ensure global consistency across multiple nodes. All
nodes should reach a consistent state, and the checkpoints must be coordinated to maintain
transactional integrity.
Transaction Atomicity:
Checkpoints should be taken in a way that ensures the atomicity of distributed transactions.
Either all parts of a distributed transaction are checkpointed, or none are, to prevent
inconsistencies.
Concurrency Control:
Checkpointing must consider the concurrency control mechanisms in place, such as locking or
isolation levels. The checkpoint should reflect the effects of committed transactions and maintain
the isolation of concurrent transactions.
Distributed Commit Protocols:
Distributed databases often use distributed commit protocols (e.g., Two-Phase Commit) to
coordinate transactions across nodes. Checkpointing needs to be integrated with these protocols
to ensure that committed transactions are safely recorded in the checkpoints.
Logging and Write-Ahead Logging:
Logging is crucial for checkpointing. Write-Ahead Logging (WAL) is a common technique
where changes made by transactions are first written to a log before being applied to the
database. In case of a failure, the system can use the log to recover to a consistent state.
Distributed Snapshot Isolation:
Checkpointing needs to be compatible with snapshot isolation mechanisms in distributed
databases. Snapshot isolation ensures that each transaction sees a consistent snapshot of the
database, even in the presence of concurrent transactions.
Global Synchronization:
Achieving global synchronization for checkpointing in distributed databases can be challenging.
Distributed algorithms, possibly involving a coordinator node, may be needed to coordinate the
checkpoints across all nodes.
Recovery Granularity:
Consider the granularity at which recovery can occur. Some systems may support fine-grained
recovery, allowing the recovery of specific transactions or parts of the database, while others
may operate at a coarser granularity.
Techniques for Checkpointing in Distributed Database Systems:
Periodic Checkpointing:
Periodically taking checkpoints at all nodes simultaneously. This involves coordinating a global
synchronization point, freezing transactions temporarily, and creating consistent snapshots.
Incremental Checkpointing:
Rather than taking full snapshots, incremental checkpointing records changes made since the last
checkpoint. This reduces the overhead of taking frequent full snapshots.
Multi-Version Concurrency Control (MVCC):
MVCC is a technique where multiple versions of a data item can coexist in the database.
Checkpointing needs to be aware of MVCC to ensure that consistent versions are included in the
checkpoints.
Quiescent Checkpointing:
Temporarily quiescing or freezing database activity during checkpointing. This involves
coordinating the stopping of transactions, taking a consistent snapshot, and then resuming normal
operations.
Hot Standby and Replication:
Maintaining hot standby nodes or replicas that continuously receive updates. These standby
nodes can be used for failover and recovery, providing a form of continuous checkpointing.
Distributed Commit and Recovery Protocols:
Integrating distributed commit protocols, like Two-Phase Commit, with recovery protocols to
ensure that committed transactions are durably stored and available for recovery.
Hybrid Approaches:
Combining multiple checkpointing techniques, such as periodic and incremental checkpointing,
to achieve a balance between consistency, recovery time, and overhead.
Coordination and Consensus Algorithms:
Using coordination and consensus algorithms, such as Paxos or Raft, to coordinate checkpointing
across distributed nodes and ensure a consistent global state.
Challenges:
Scalability:
Ensuring scalability as the number of nodes in the distributed database system grows.
Performance Overhead:
Minimizing the performance overhead associated with checkpointing to avoid impacting regular
database operations.
Coordination Complexity:
Managing the complexity of coordinating checkpoints across distributed nodes, especially in
large-scale systems.
Recovery Time:
Balancing the trade-off between recovery time and the granularity of recovery.
Integration with Transactional Models:
Ensuring seamless integration with the transactional models and concurrency control
mechanisms used in the distributed database.
In conclusion, checkpointing in distributed database systems is a multifaceted challenge that
requires careful consideration of consistency, concurrency control, and recovery mechanisms.
Different systems may adopt varying strategies based on their specific requirements and the
trade-offs they are willing to make in terms of performance and complexity.

recovery in replicated distributed databases


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Recovery in replicated distributed databases involves strategies and mechanisms to restore the
system to a consistent state after a failure has occurred. Replication, which involves maintaining
multiple copies of data across different nodes, is a common technique in distributed databases to
enhance fault tolerance and improve system availability. Here are key considerations and
techniques for recovery in replicated distributed databases:
1. Replication Models:
Replicated distributed databases can adopt different replication models, including:
Primary-Backup Replication: One node (primary) is designated as the main replica, and others
(backups) replicate changes from the primary.
Multi-Primary Replication: Multiple nodes act as primary replicas, and each can accept
updates independently.
2. Data Consistency Models:
Different consistency models define how updates are propagated and maintained across replicas:
Eventual Consistency: Updates are propagated asynchronously, and consistency is achieved
over time.
Strong Consistency: Updates are synchronously propagated, ensuring immediate consistency
but potentially impacting availability.
3. Recovery Techniques:
a. Primary-Backup Replication:
In the primary-backup model, recovery involves:
Promotion of Backups: If the primary fails, one of the backups is promoted to become the new
primary.
Log Replay: Replicating the log of the primary to the new primary to bring it up to date.
b. Multi-Primary Replication:
In multi-primary replication, recovery involves:
Conflict Resolution: Handling conflicts that may arise when updates occur on multiple
primaries.
Re-synchronization: Re-synchronizing replicas with consistent data after a failure.
4. Logging and Checkpointing:
Logging and checkpointing are crucial for recovery in replicated distributed databases:
Write-Ahead Logging (WAL): Logging changes before applying them ensures that recovery
can be performed by replaying the log.
Periodic Checkpointing: Taking consistent snapshots periodically can reduce the recovery time
by starting from a recent checkpoint.
5. Quorum Systems:
Many replicated distributed databases use quorum-based systems for read and write operations:
Read Quorums: A minimum number of replicas that must agree on the state before a read is
considered successful.
Write Quorums: A minimum number of replicas that must acknowledge an update for it to be
considered successful.
6. Recovery Protocols:
Distributed databases often use recovery protocols for failure detection and recovery
coordination:
Two-Phase Commit (2PC): Coordinates the commit or rollback of distributed transactions.
Paxos and Raft: Consensus algorithms used for ensuring agreement among distributed nodes.
7. Anti-Entropy Mechanisms:
Anti-entropy mechanisms help ensure consistency among replicas by detecting and repairing
inconsistencies:
MerkeTrees and Hash Trees: Used to efficiently detect differences in replicated data.
Inconsistency Detection Algorithms: Algorithms that identify and repair inconsistencies during
regular maintenance tasks.
8. Delta-Based Replication:
Delta-based replication involves sending only the changes (deltas) made to the data instead of the
entire dataset. This can reduce the amount of data that needs to be replicated and speed up
recovery.
9. Automatic Failover:
Automatic failover mechanisms can be employed to detect primary node failures and
automatically promote a backup to take over the primary role. This minimizes downtime and
ensures continuous operation.
10. Causal Consistency:
Causal consistency models ensure that updates are propagated causally, preserving the order of
causally related operations. This helps in maintaining a meaningful order of updates across
replicas.
Challenges:
Conflict Resolution:
Resolving conflicts that may arise during recovery, especially in multi-primary replication
models.
Consistency and Availability Trade-offs:
Balancing the trade-off between consistency and availability, especially in the face of network
partitions and node failures.
Recovery Time:
Minimizing recovery time to ensure quick resumption of normal operations after a failure.
Scalability:
Ensuring that recovery mechanisms scale efficiently as the size of the distributed database and
the number of replicas grow.
Integration with Application Logic:
Coordinating recovery mechanisms with the application logic to handle specific failure scenarios
and maintain overall system integrity.
Recovery in replicated distributed databases is a complex task that requires careful consideration
of replication models, consistency models, and recovery protocols. The chosen strategies should
align with the system's requirements, performance goals, and the desired level of fault tolerance.

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