Oracle Distributed Systems

Chapter 1, is an overview of distributed systems—terminology, basic concepts, benefits and perils, and the various options provided by Oracle.

Chapter 2, describes the underlying protocols Oracle supplies to support communication with distributed Oracle databases over a network.
Chapter 3, explains how to set up a distributed database environment; it discusses initialization parameters, database links, how distributed transactions work, and the basics of distributed backup and recovery.

Chapter 4, describes special security concerns for distributed systems; it looks at privilege management, various authentication methods, the encryption of network traffic, and the use of the Oracle Security Server (OSS) and the Advanced Networking Option (ANO).
Chapter 5, examines the design of a distributed system; it introduces C. J. Date's fundamental principles of distributed databases, discusses the global data dictionary, and recommends a particular approach to data partitioning.
Chapter 6, examines how Oracle's RDBMS and networking products meet Date's objectives for distributed database systems.
Chapter 7, focuses on the most common distributed architectures: the high-availability system, systems illustrating geographic data distribution, workflow partitioning, and data collection and consolidation, and the loosely coupled federation.
Chapter 8, examines the special requirements of distributed systems that must be taken into account during the engineering process: schema design and integration, application tiering, and the design of a replicated application.
Chapter 9, takes a deeper look at Oracle's replication architecture; it examines the various types of replication available through Oracle, specific architectural components, installation tips, and enhancements for Oracle8 and Oracle8i.
Chapter 10, describes how to set up an advanced replication environment, including the setting of initialization parameters, the selection of redo logs and rollback segments, the size and placement of data dictionary objects, and the use of administrative accounts, privileges, and database links.
Chapter 11, is a detailed analysis of Oracle's basic replication (snapshot) facility.
Chapter 12, is a detailed analysis of Oracle's multi-master replication facility.
Chapter 13, is a detailed analysis of Oracle's updateable snapshot facility.
Chapter 14, is a detailed analysis of Oracle's procedural replication facility.
Chapter 15, describes a variety of techniques for avoiding conflicts among the various distributed sites where data is replicated.