Oracle7 Server Distributed Systems Volume I: Distributed Data
Benefits of the Client-Server Model
A client-server system is one that uses network resources and shared processing (by both client and server), to provide front-end applications with concurrent, shared data access.
Many clients can share the resources provided by a single server, thus moving the non-critical data and functions to the desktop workstation, leaving the server free for critical processing needs.
Other benefits include:
- Client applications can concentrate on requesting input from users, requesting desired data from the server, and then analyzing and presenting this data using the display capabilities of the client workstation or the terminal (for example, using graphics or spreadsheets).
- Client applications can be designed with no dependence on the physical location of the data. If the data is moved or distributed to other database servers, the application continues to function with little or no modification.
- Oracle7 exploits the multitasking and shared-memory facilities of its underlying operating system. As a result, it delivers the highest possible degree of concurrency, data integrity, and performance to its client applications.
- Client workstations or terminals can be optimized for the presentation of data (for example, by providing graphics and mouse support) and the server can be optimized for the processing and storage of data (for example, by having large amounts of memory and disk space).
- If necessary, Oracle7 can be scaled for future growth. As your system grows, you can add multiple servers to distribute the database processing load throughout the network
(horizontal scaling).
Alternatively, you can replace Oracle7 on a less powerful computer (such as a microcomputer) with Oracle7 running on a minicomputer or mainframe to take advantage of a larger system's performance (vertical scaling). In either case, all data and applications are maintained with little or no modification, since Oracle7 is portable between systems.
- In networked environments, shared data is stored on the servers, rather than on all computers in the system. This makes it easier and more efficient to manage concurrent access.
- In networked environments, inexpensive, low-end client workstations can access the remote data of the server effectively.
- In networked environments, client applications submit database requests to the server using SQL statements. Once received, the SQL statement is processed by the server, and the results are returned to the client application. Network traffic is kept to a minimum because only the requests and the results are shipped over the network.
- A client-server system provides independence between application components and reduced maintenance costs.