Distributed database systems: where are we now?

The authors explain what is meant by a distributed database system and discuss its characteristics. They survey the state of distributed database technology, focusing on how well products meet the goals of transparent management of distributed and replicated data, reliability through distributed transactions, better performance, and easier, more economical system expansion. They then consider unsolved problems with regard to network scaling, distribution design, distributed query processing, distributed transaction processing, integration with distributed operating systems, and distributed multidatabase systems.< >