Checkpointing Memory-Resident Databases

Abstract:

A main memory database system holds all data in semiconductor memory. For recovery purposes, a backup copy of the database is maintained in secondary storage. The checkpointer is the component of the crash recovery manager responsible for maintaining the backup copy. Ideally, the checkpointer should maintain an almost-up-to-date backup while interfering as little as possible with the system's transaction processing activities. We present several algorithms for maintaining such a backup database, and compare them using an analytic model. Our results show some significant performance differences
among the algorithms, and illustrate some of the performance tradeoffs that are available in designing such a checkpointer. Revised June 1988.