📡 Distributed Systems

MAKAUT B.Tech (PEC-IT601B) 2024–25 – Detailed Solutions

✅ Group-C (15-Mark Answers) | Exam-ready format
📘 Group-C (Long Answer – 15 Marks) – Detailed Solutions
7(a) Discuss Various Transaction Models (15 Marks)

1. Flat Transaction Model: Simplest model, entire transaction as one unit, follows ACID. Example: BEGIN; Update A; Update B; COMMIT. Failure → full rollback.

2. Nested Transaction Model: Transaction divided into sub-transactions. Structure: T { T1, T2, T3 }. Advantages: parallelism, fault isolation.

3. Distributed Transaction Model: Executes across multiple sites, uses Two-Phase Commit (2PC). Example: Bank transfer (debit site A, credit site B).

4. Chained Transaction Model: Series of smaller independent commits, improves recovery.

5. Workflow Transaction Model: Tasks follow business process, used in e-commerce and supply chains.

Conclusion: Transaction models improve concurrency, reliability, and distributed execution.

7(b) What is Flat and Nested Transaction? Explain with Example (15 Marks)

Flat Transaction: Single execution unit: BEGIN → Execute → COMMIT/ABORT. Example: Update account balance; failure causes full rollback.

Nested Transaction: Main transaction contains sub-transactions (children). Example: Online shopping: Parent = Place order; Children = Payment, Inventory, Delivery.

FlatNested
Single unitMultiple sub-units
Full rollbackPartial rollback
Less parallelMore parallel
7(c) Explain Serializability in Distributed Database (15 Marks)

Serializability: Concurrent execution produces same result as some serial execution.

Conflict Serializability: Uses precedence graph; read-write/write-write conflicts must be acyclic.

View Serializability: Schedules appear identical to serial schedule (same initial reads, final writes).

Importance: Prevents inconsistency, maintains correctness, improves concurrency.

8(a) Why is Commit Protocol Necessary? (15 Marks)

Ensures all sites commit or abort together → atomicity in distributed transactions.

  • Atomicity
  • Consistency
  • Failure handling
  • Distributed coordination

Example: Bank transfer: debit success, credit failure → without protocol data becomes inconsistent.

Protocols: Two-Phase Commit (2PC), Three-Phase Commit (3PC).

8(b) Explain Response to Failure in Two Phase Commit Protocol (15 Marks)

Coordinator failure: Participants wait, recover from log.

Participant failure: Recover from stable storage, use undo/redo.

Communication failure: Timeout mechanism triggers recovery.

Coordinator → Prepare → Vote → Commit/Abort → Recovery: Undo/Redo
8(c) Disadvantages of Two Phase Commit Protocol (15 Marks)
  • Blocking problem (participants may wait indefinitely)
  • High communication overhead
  • Long waiting time
  • Coordinator single point of failure
  • Performance degradation under high load
9(a) Explain Different Parallel Database Architecture (15 Marks)

Shared Memory: CPUs share memory and disk. Fast communication but limited scalability.

Shared Disk: Each CPU has private memory, shared disk. High availability but disk contention.

Shared Nothing: Each node has CPU+memory+disk. Highly scalable, fault tolerant, complex communication.

ArchitectureScalabilityFault Tolerance Shared MemoryLowMedium Shared DiskMediumHigh Shared NothingHighVery High
9(b) Goal of Using Parallel Database Architecture (15 Marks)

Goals: Improve speed, handle large data, load balancing, fault tolerance, high throughput.

9(c) Difference Between Parallel Database and Distributed Database (15 Marks)
Parallel DBDistributed DB Improve speedShare data across locations Tight couplingLoose coupling Same physical locationMultiple locations Central controlAutonomous sites
10(a) Serializability in Distributed Database (15 Marks)

Ensures concurrent execution = serial execution order. Benefits: consistency, correctness, no lost updates.

Techniques: Locking (2PL), Timestamp ordering, Optimistic validation.

11(a) Discuss Multidatabase Architecture (15 Marks)

Integrates multiple autonomous databases under global schema.

Users → Global Schema → MDBMS → Local Databases

Components: Global schema, local schema, data translator. Advantages: Autonomy, scalability. Disadvantages: Complex integration, query optimization overhead.

11(b) What is Mobile Database? (15 Marks)

Database that supports mobile users with wireless access, replication, and synchronization.

Characteristics: Portability, intermittent connectivity, data caching.

Applications: Banking, healthcare, navigation, e-commerce.

11(c) Concurrency Control in Distributed DBMS (15 Marks)

Techniques:

  • Lock-Based Protocols (Shared/Exclusive locks, 2PL)
  • Timestamp Protocol (older transaction gets priority)
  • Optimistic Protocol (validate at commit)
  • Distributed 2PL (lock acquisition before execution)

Benefits: Consistency, deadlock control, isolation, improved throughput.

📖 Exam-focused Summary – Distributed Systems

✔ Complete 15-mark answers for MAKAUT PEC-IT601B (2024–25).
✔ Covers transaction models (flat, nested, distributed, chained, workflow), 2PC (need, failure response, disadvantages), parallel architectures (shared memory/disk/nothing), serializability, multidatabase, mobile database, concurrency control.
✔ Answers structured with definitions, examples, tables, and diagrams per MAKAUT exam pattern.