ABSTRACT

This chapter presents an overall view of the elements required for the successful management of multiple databases. The recommended approach is the construction of a functional bridge that allows the multiple databases to function as a single database. The chapter reviews, step-by-step, the planning and design decisions related to the communications infrastructure and the designation of the database master. Corporate Information Server management is often challenged when it finds that it must control multiple databases that may reside on separate and disparate systems. However, the cost of not harnessing these multiple databases into a coherent whole is very high. The chapter addresses how to build the bridge from one database to another so that they function as one. Early in the project, alternatives to building a functional bridge might be evaluated. The alternatives fall into two main classes: incorporation versus consolidation of databases.