Class Exercise - Napster

Categorize the database containing the list of available music files as either centralized or distributed.

Distributed because once the list is downloaded the user can distribute the data to others. "One application may be replicated on different computers. Different applications may be distributed among different computers."(Chapter 3, slide 26.

Napster was a famous music exchange system that additionally offered many add-on services. It was sentenced to go out of business due to copyright infringement. The system worked as follows. The Napster server held a database of all music files offered by the participating users. Users had to login to the Napster server, and send the list of files they offered. Each user could then send search requests to the Napster server, in order to receive a list of the users that offered files that matched the query. The requester could then choose a user from that list, establish a direct connection with him, and request a download of the file.

Scenario

Categorize the database of music files as centralized, decentralized, or distributed.

Centralized because the music files in this application may are held in a central single database at Napster. (Chapter 3, slide 9, and slide 36.)

Categorize the relationship between the users of the system as either client/server or peer to peer.

The relationship between users and the system would be peer to peer because they can access each other's requested files from the Napster server. The users can request data from another user directly. (in-class discussion)

Two data centers used for retail credit authorization are located in two different major population centers, which are separated from each other by a large zone of very little population. Each data center is intended to cover a particular geographical area and thus contains data that reflect the account status of the cardholders in that area only. Communication between both data centers occurs only in case a cardholder from one geographical area shops in a retail credit establishment of the geographical area covered by the other data center.

Scenario 2

Categorize the relationship between the Napster server and the users of the system as either client/server or peerto peer.

The Napster server and the users of the system is defined as a client/ server because the users need to log in to a server in order to have access to the information/ data collected. (in-class discussion)

Should the two data centers be consolidated into a single, centralized, cloud-based facility? Whyor why not?

The data centers should be a single, centralized, cloud-based facility because the information stored in the data centers is PII (personal identifiable information) and security is our main concern. With this model, there is a central locationto secure which would minimize vulnerabilities by limiting access to the information. Additionally, because the data centers are geographically separated and only service a small population, it is architecturally smarter to only require service and staff at one location should the servers need maintenance.(Chapter 3 slides and personal discussion)

Classify the database of the retail credit system as either partitioned or replicated.

The database of the retail credit system is partitioned because if customer A uses their credit card information in data center B, then data center B must talk with data center A to get and confirm the information. (In class lecture and chapter 3 slides)

Classify the relationship between the data centers as either client/server or peer to peer.

The relationship between the data centers is client/server because each data center must connect through routers and servers in order to receive and send information. (google search for difference between client-server and peer-to-peer) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Client_(computing)