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From: stone@shamash.cdc.com (Jon Stonecash)
Newsgroups: comp.databases
Subject: Re: Cle[Dient/Server Question
Summary: Client/Server provides flexibility
Message-ID: <31678@shamash.cdc.com>
Date: 22 Mar 91 14:41:24 GMT
References: <223@picker.picker.com>
Distribution: na
Organization: Control Data, Arden Hills, MN
Lines: 27

In article <223@picker.picker.com> kobetitsch@pacs.picker.com (harry kobetitsch) writes:
>Can anyone tell me what Client/Server on a database will buy me ?
>What is it ? What databases support it now ?
>
>kobetitsch@pacs.picker.com  

There are several reasons why a client/server architecture for a DBMS 
provides benefits.  Some of the most important are:

*   A separate server program consumes less system resources such as memory.
    Also, the rate of growth of resource usage is less as the number of 
    client processes (users) grows.
*   The separation of the client code from the server code allows these two
    functions to operate on different processors.  Using the facilities of
    curent networks, the server can be on an entirely different node of the
    network.  This allows clients in many different processor nodes to share
    the same server, thus making common data available to a wide variety of
    users, each of whom may be operating upon a different platform.
*   Even if there is only one processing node in the network, the client
    server architecture can take advantage of multi-processor configurations.
    One processor can handle the server, others the client processes.  There
    is an almost unlimited flexibility in how configurations and priorities
    can be assigned to solve specific user problems.
*   Certain problems such as locking for concurrent access to a data base
    are easier to solve with a client/server approach.

Jon Stonecash