Data Replication in a Mobile

Environment
Raymond Pon
CS244A
Wesley W. Chu

December 2, 2002
 Outline
• Mobile System Architecture
• Problem Description
• A Simple Data Replication Strategy:
Caching
• Data Replication Strategies
• Evaluation Considerations
 Outline
• Mobile System Architecture
• Problem Description
• A Simple Data Replication Strategy:
Caching
• Data Replication Strategies
• Evaluation Considerations
Mobile System Architecture
• Two distinct sets of
entities:
– Mobile units (MU)
– Fixed hosts (FH)
• Some are Mobile Support
Stations (MSS) that have
a wireless interface
• Can communicate to MUs
• Cell is radio coverage
range over which an MSS
can communicate with an
MU
 Outline
• Mobile System Architecture
• Problem Description
• A simple Data Replication Strategy:
Caching
• Data Replication Strategies
• Evaluation Considerations
 Problem
• Bandwidth Considerations and Data Transfer Rates
• Frequent Network Failures
• MUs often have limited battery-life.
• Wireless communication is expensive!
• Locality Migration: If a MU has initiated a transaction, and moves, the
location of the MU within the network must be found prior to completing the
transaction
• Frequent Planned Disconnections
• Recovery Services: Where are we going to store the recovery logs?
• Consistency Semantics: If process are frequently interrupted, they may
leave data objects in an inconsistent state.
• Security
• Human interface: How do we pose queries from a handheld device?

• Thus, it is important that MUs access online databases in a way that

minimizes communication
 Outline
• Mobile System Architecture
• Problem Description
• A Simple Data Replication Strategy:
Caching
• Data Replication Strategies
• Evaluation Considerations
 A Simple Data Replication
Strategy: Caching
• If a MU frequently reads a data-item x, and x is
updated infrequently…
– …then it is beneficial for the MU to allocate a copy of
x locally at the MU
– MU will receive all updates of x
• If a MU reads x infrequently compared to the
update rate…
– …then a copy of x should not be stored locally at the
MU
– Access should be on-demand
 Caching Allocation Strategy
• Static: allocation scheme does not change
over time
• Dynamic: allocation scheme changes over
time
 Dynamic Caching Allocation
Scheme
• Assumptions for the model:
– FH stores the online database
– Data item x is stored at the FH at all times
– Reads and writes are issued at a MU or
another FH
– We are going to ignore reads issued by the
FH and writes by the MU, since the cost of
such requests is fixed.
– Relevant requests are writes by FH and reads
by MU.
 Dynamic Caching Allocation
Scheme (cont’d)
• Sliding-Window(k) algorithm allocates and
deallocates a copy of the data item x at
the MU’s cache.
• The window can be represented as a
sequence of k bits (0 = read, 1 = write)

1 0 1 1 1 0 1 1 0 0 0
K bits
 Who’s in Charge?
• At any point in time, whether or not the MU has a copy of x, either the
MU or the FH is aware of all the relevant requests
• If the MU has a copy of x, then all reads at the MU are satisfied
locally, and all writes by FH are propagated to the MU
• If the MU does not have a copy, then all reads issued by the MU
are sent to the FH
• Thus, either the MU or the FH is “in charge of maintaining” the window
of k requests.
Case 1: MU is “in charge” or has Case 2: FH is “in charge” or the MU
X in the cache does not have X in the cache
# reads > # writes # reads < # writes

MU MU
read FH read FH
x
write write
x x
 Case 1: MU has x
• If (# reads > # writes)
then wait for next
operation
• If (# writes > # reads) MU FH
then deallocate copy read
x
• Deallocation: MU sends write
to FH… x
– An indication that the FH
should not propagate
writes to MU
– The current window of
requests
 Case 2: MU does not have x
• If (# reads < # writes)
then wait for next operation
• If (# writes < # reads)
then allocate copy to MU
• Allocation: FH sends to read
MU FH
MU…
– Copy of x
write
– An indication to save the x
copy in the MU’s cache, in
which the FH also promises
to propagate further writes
to MU
– The current window of
requests
 We need more!
• Caching helps
minimize wireless
communication MU FH
between a MU and FH
• But what if the data we
want to access resides
on another MU, or a MU MH
mobile host (MH)?
• That’s what a more
complex data
replication scheme can
be used for.
 Outline
• Mobile System Architecture
• Problem Description
• A Simple Data Replication Strategy:
Caching Data
• Replication Strategies
• Evaluation Considerations
 Data Replication
• Allocate replicas of
mobile user’s data on
fixed sites in the network
• Now it becomes possible
to handle access
requests from other users MU MH
locally on the fixed sites, FH
without accessing the
owner MH
• So now instead of MU (or
a FH) talking to a MH
• A MU (or a FH) can now
talk to a FH.
Architecture Extension
• We shall extend the definition
of a MU to a MH
– MH can act as a data client
and a data server at the same
time
– MH, as a data server, is to
support transaction operations
such as read, write, prepare,
and abort
– MH, as a data client, must
submit transaction operations
to the coordinator laid on the
MSS of its current cell (if
request cannot be satisfied
locally)
• Each MH has a replica of its
data on FH called a replica
server
 Architecture Extension:
Coordinators
• Each MSS has a coordinator
which receives transactions
operations from MH or
coordinators of other MSSs, and
monitors their execution in the
local replica sever if the
corresponding replicas exist
• If the corresponding data replicas
do not exist, the coordinator
contacts the location server to get
information on their locations.
• On receiving location info on
replicas, the coordinator submits
transaction operations to
coordinator of MSS where each
replica exists.
• The receiving coordinator will send
the request to the local replica
server for executions.
 Architecture Extension:
Location Server
• Location server keeps
information of locations of
all MH as well as replicas
which are located within
its management
coverage.
• Whenever moving to
another cell, a MH has to
notify the location server
and inform its new
location
 Data Replication Strategies
• Static replica allocation (SRA): locations of
replicas are fixed, regardless of movements of
MU
• Dynamic strategies
– Primary-copy tracking replication allocation (PTRA)
– User majority replication allocation (UMRA)
 SRA Strategy
• We assume MH do not move too far from their location servers
• Server replicates the copy of data at the mobile client
– On each write, the server needs to write to the copy on the mobile client
– Reading is from a local copy on the mobile client
• The replicated copy resides at the location server of the client
– Client reads from its own location server
– Reads and writes are on the same copies
– Copy is closer to the reader than the writer
• The server has a copy of data at its home location server
– Client reads from the home location server
– Reads and writes are on the same copies
– Copy is closer to the writer than the reader
 PTRA Strategy
• Replica is always allocated at
the replica server in the cell
where its owner MH exists
• Replica relocation is done as
the MH moves from cell to cell
• When a MH enters a cell, it
registers itself to the new cell
by notifying the location server
• The location server will query
the previous location of the MH
and will issue a replication
relocation request to the
coordinator of the previous
location
 PTRA Strategy (cont’d)
• The strategy is a good idea when…
– The owner MH will access data more than
other MH
– If accesses are write-intensive, the cost of
writes can be reduced since it does not
involve network connections to other cells
• But as the owner’s mobility grows, cost
implied by replica relocations will increase
 Outline
• Mobile System Architecture
• Problem Description
• A Simple Data Replication Strategy:
Caching
• Data Replication Strategies
• Evaluation Considerations
 Evaluation Considerations
• The degree of mobility
• Cost of searching for MH
• Read/Write activity
 Conclusion
• Caching can minimize communication
between a MH and a FH
• More complex replication can minimize
communication between a MH and a MH
• There are more data replication and
caching strategies for the mobile
environment (to be explored in the term
paper)
 References
 Budiarto, K. Harumoto, M. Tsukamoto and S. Nishio, “On Strategies for Allocating
Replicas of Mobile Databases,” IEICE Trans. on Information & System, Vol.E81-D,
No.1, January 1998
 Budiarto, K. Harumoto, M. Tsukamoto and S. Nishio, “On relocation Decision
Policies of Mobile Databases,” IEICE Trans. on information & System, Vol. E82-D,
No.2, February 1999.
 P. Sistla, O. Wolfson and Y. Huang, “Minimization of communication cost through
caching in mobile environments,” IEEE Trans. on Parallel and Distributed
Systems, Vol.9, No.4, April 1998.
 Y. Huang, P. Sistla and O. Wolfson, “Data Replication for Mobile Computers,”
ACM SIGMOD, May 1994.
 Y. Huang and O. Wolfson, “Dynamic Allocation in Distributed System and Mobile
Computers,” IEEE Proc. Tenth Int’l Conf. Data Eng. ‘94, pp. 20-29, Houston, Tex.,
1994.
 R. Tewari, P. Grillo, “Data management for mobile computing on the Internet,”
Proc. The 1995 ACM 23rd Annual Conference on Computer Science, 1995, pp.
246-252.
 B.R. Badrinath and T. Imielinski, “Replication and Mobility,” Proc. Second
Workshop Management of Replicated Data (WMRD-II), pp. 9-12, Monterey, Calif.,
1992.
 R. Alonso and H.F. Korth, “Database system issues in nomadic computing,” Proc.
Of the 1993 ACM SIGMOD Intl. Conf. on Management of Data, pp. 388-392, 1993.
 Additional References
 R. Ahuja, R. Bagrodia, L. Bajaj, M. Takai, “Evaluation of optimistic file replication in
wireless multihop networks” Global Telecommunications Conference, 1999.
GLOBECOM '99 , Vol. 1a , 1999, pp. 259 -265 vol.1a.
 C. D. Tait and D. Duchamp, “Service interface and replica management algorithm
for mobile file system clients,” Proceedings of the Parallel and distributed
information systems conference, December 1991.
 D. Barbara and T. Imielinski, “Sleepers and workaholics: Caching strategies in
mobile environments,” Proc. Of the 1994 ACM SIGMOD Intl. Conf on Management
of Data, pp. 1-12, 1994.
 G. H. Forman and J. Zahorjan, “The challenges of mobile computing,” IEEE
Computer, pp. 38-47, April 1994.
 T. Imelinski and A. Badrinath, “Mobile wireless computing: Solutions and
challenges in data management,” Technical Report, Rutgers University, 1993.
 H. V. Leong and A. Si, “On adaptive caching in mobile computing,” In Proceedings
of the 1997 ACM Symposium on Applied Computing, 1997, San Jose, CA, pp.
302-309.
 M. T. Özsu and P. Valduriez, “Mobile Databases,” Principles of
Distributed Database Systems, 2nd Edition, New Jersey, 1999, pp. 596-
602.