Consistency and Replication (II)

Basic Architecture for Replica Data  Management

System Model

Five phases in performing a request
  • Front end issues the request
    • Either sent to a single replica or multicast to all replicate managers
  • Coordination
    • Replica managers coordinate in preparation for the execution of the request
      • i.e., agree is requests is to be performed and the ordering of the request relative to others
  • Execution
  • Agreement
    • Reach consensus on effect of the request, e.g., agree to commit or abort in a transactional system
  • Response

Mechanism for Sequential Consistency

  • Primary-based replication protocols
  • Replicated-write protocols
    • Active replication using multicast communication
    • Quorum-based protocols

Primary-backup Model

  • Front ends only communicate with primary

Procedures

  • Request
    • FE issues a request containing a unique identifier to the primary replica manager
  • Coordination
    • The primary takes each request in the order in which it receives it
  • Execution
    • The primary executes the request and store the response
  • Agreement
    • If the request is an update, the primary sends the updated state, the response and the unique id to all backups. The backups send an acknowledgement.
  • Response
    • The primary responds to the front end, which hands the response back to the client.

Implementation

  • Implements linearizability if primary is correct, since primary sequences all the operations

Failures

  • If primary fails, the system retains linearizabilty if a single back becomes the new primary and if the new system configuration takes over exactly where the last left off
    • If primary fails, it should be replaced with a unique backup
    • Replica managers that survive have to agree upon which operation has been performed when the replacement primayr is over
    • Requirements met if replica managers organized as a group and if primary uses view-synchronous communication to propagate updates to backups.

Replicate-Write Protocol

Active replication

  • Front end multicasts request to each replica using a totally ordered reliable multicast
  • System achieves sequential consistency but not linearizability
    • Total order in which replica managers process requests may not be the same as real-time order in which clients made request.

Implementing Ordered Multicast

  • Incoming messages are held back in a queue until delivery guarantees can be met
    • The hold-back queue for arriving multicast messages
  • Coordinate all machines needed to determine delivery order
  • FIFO-ordering
    • Easy
    • Use a separate sequence number for each process
  • Total ordering
    • Use a sequencer
    • Distributed algorithm with three phases
  • Causal order
    • Use vector timestamps

The ISIS algorithm for total ordering


Causal Ordering using Vector Timestamps

Quorum-based Protocols

  • Procedures
    • Assign a number of votes to each replica
    • Let N be the total number of votes
    • Define R = read quorum, W = write quorum
    • R+W > N
    • W > N/2
      • guarantee that no two writes at the same time 
      • since if yes, than the vote for w_1 and w_2 are larger than N
    • Only one writer at a time can achieve write quorum
    • Every reader sees at least one copy of the most recent read (takes one with most recent version number)
  • Examples

    Scaling

    • None of the protocols for sequential consistency scale
    • To read or write, you have to either
      • Contact a primary copy
      • Use reliable totally ordered multicast
      • Contact over half the replicas
    • All this complexity is to ensure sequential consistency
      • Even the protocols for causal consistency and FIFO consistency are difficult to scale if they use reliable multicast
    • Can we weaken sequential consistency without losing some important features?

    Highly Available Service

    • Emphasis on giving clients access to the service with reasonable response time, even if some results do not conform to sequential consistency
    • Examples
      • Gossip
        • Relaxed consistency
          • Causal update ordering
      • Bayou
        • Eventual consistency
        • Domain-specific conflict detection and resolution
      • Coda (file system)
        • Disconnected operation
        • Use vector timestamp to detect conflicts

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