PART IV
Chapter 25 Distributed DBMSs Advanced Concepts
25.1 The centralized two-phase commit protocol uses a series of timeouts to prevent unnecessary
blocking. Discuss the actions for both coordinator and participants when a timeout occurs.
Consideration should be given to the various stages of the commit protocol.
See Section 25.4.3.
25.2 Under the three-phase commit protocol, discuss how the coordinator and participants would
recover following a failure. Consideration should be given to the various stages of the commit
protocol.
Coordinator Failure
1. Failure in INITIAL state. The coordinator has not yet started the commit procedure.
2. Failure in WAITING state. The coordinator has sent the prepare message and although
3. Failure in DECIDED state. The coordinator has instructed the participants to globally
4. Failure in PRE-COMMITTED state. The coordinator has instructed the participants to
Participant Failure
The objective of the recovery protocol for a participant is to ensure that a participant process on
restart performs the same action as all other participants and that this restarting can be done
independently (i.e. without the need to consult either the coordinator or the other participants).
1. Failure in INITIAL state. The participant has not yet voted on the transaction. Therefore,
3. Failure in ABORTED/COMMITTED states. Participant has completed the transaction.