Mediator System for Heterogeneous Database Consistency
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Solution Overview
Problem
Integrating data from multiple heterogeneous sources across diverse platforms is challenging due to autonomy and heterogeneity issues, such as different data models, APIs, and schemas, making it difficult to maintain consistency and provide organization-wide access.
Innovation Solution
A system that maintains consistency among satellite databases by converting all modifications to a global schema, using a queue to apply updates seriatim, and employing filters to process requests appropriately for each database, ensuring write-write consistency and supporting read-write consistency through distributed transactions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If data is integrated from multiple heterogeneous sources, then organization-wide access to data is improved, but data consistency and autonomy are compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a mediator system that sits between heterogeneous data sources and users, translating diverse data models, schemas, and APIs into a unified view. This mediator maintains data consistency by coordinating updates across sources while preserving their autonomy, allowing organization-wide access without compromising reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The system segments the integration architecture into independent components: data source adapters, a central mediator, and user access interfaces. Each segment handles specific tasks, allowing heterogeneous sources to maintain autonomy while the mediator ensures consistency across the integrated view.
2Adaptability or versatility
If custom applications are built to assemble data from multiple locations, then data integration capability is improved, but cost and maintainability deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The mediator system provides universal data integration capabilities that can serve multiple applications and users simultaneously. Instead of building custom integration logic for each application, the universal mediator handles all integration tasks, significantly reducing development cost and improving maintainability.
Solution Approach 2:
The system enables self-service data integration through standardized adapters and automated mediation processes. New data sources can be integrated by configuring adapters rather than building custom applications, reducing both development cost and maintenance burden.
3Productivity
If data is replicated across multiple devices and directories, then data availability is improved, but data inconsistencies increase
Solution Approach 1:
The mediator implements feedback mechanisms that monitor data changes across replicated sources and automatically coordinate updates. When data is modified in one location, the mediator detects the change and propagates consistent updates to other replicas, maintaining data consistency while preserving availability.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary coordination before data replication occurs. The mediator pre-establishes consistency rules and update protocols, ensuring that replicated data remains consistent without requiring expensive post-replication verification and correction.
Data Source
AI summary
An arrangement maintains consistency among satellite databases and an integrated database that is the union of the satellite databases with a controller that fetches update requests from a queue and applies each fetched request to all of the databases, in sequence, ending with the integrated database. In applying a modification request to a target database, a filter is used that comprises two components. The first component processes the modification request submitted by the queue to a modification request that is appropriate for the schema of the target database and that is based on the data that is already present in the target database. When appropriate, the first component also creates an update request that is sent to the queue, to achieve transitive closure. The second component communicates with the target database, using the API and protocols of the target database.