Database replication in large scale systems: optimizing the number of replicas

In distributed systems, replication is used for ensuring availability and increasing performances. However, the heavy workload of distributed systems such as web2.0 applications or Global Distribution Systems, limits the benefit of replication if its degree (i.e., the number of replicas) is not controlled. Since every replica must perform all updates eventually, there is a point beyond which adding more replicas does not increase the throughput, because every replica is saturated by applying updates. Moreover, if the replication degree exceeds the optimal threshold, the useless replica would generate an overhead due to extra communication messages. In this paper, we propose a suitable replication management solution in order to reduce useless replicas. To this end, we define two mathematical models which approximate the appropriate number of replicas to achieve a given level of performance. Moreover, we demonstrate the feasibility of our replication management model through simulation. The results expose the effectiveness of our models and their accuracy.