MYRIAD - DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION OF A FEDERATED DATABASE PROTOTYPE

A key problem in providing 'enterprise-wide' information is the integr ation of databases that have been independently developed. An importan t requirement is to accommodate heterogeneity and maintain the autonom y of component databases. Myriad is a federated database prototype dev eloped at the University of Minnesota, to provide a testbed for invest igating alternatives in architecture and algorithms for database integ ration, query processing and optimization, and concurrency control and recovery. The system incorporates our group's research results in the se areas. This paper describes our experiences in the design and imple mentation of Myriad, and in the project management. Special emphasis i s given to discussing design alternatives and their impact on Myriad. This paper also presents the software engineering principles and the p roject management techniques we used in developing Myriad and the less ons we learned. We believe these lessons would be useful for practitio ners who wish to develop a similar system. Handling heterogeneity and autonomy were prime objectives throughout the prototyping effort. We a re convinced that a prototype federated database is an important infra structural requirement for the overall goal of 'enterprise-integration ', and believe Myriad to be a significant contribution towards this.