Needed: Distributed control

Abstract

Nearly all very large data bases of the future will be built by large organizations, and will be very complex and diverse. This paper discusses two approaches to VLDB management: centralized control, where a powerful DB administrator makes all the important decisions about the contents, representation, and access authorization; and distributed control, where the authority to make those decisions is shared between an administration oriented central office and many action oriented users. It is claimed that in large complex enterprises, whether private or public, the organizational and social aspects of DB usage outweigh the technological ones. Arguments are presented to support the thesis that, in such environments, only a regime of distributed control can meet the users' needs and provide the required adaptability, perspicuity and responsiveness. A concept of a decentralized DB is then briefly outlined. An example is presented early on to stress the scope of the problem discussed, and is used later to illustrate specific points.