Client/Server Distribution in a Structure-Oriented Database Management
System

Roland Baumann

	   Client/Server distribution in (software) design environments
	   can be achieved by distributing an underlying repository
	   database management system. Several alternative approaches
	   for such a distribution exist, which differ in the layer
	   of the architecture at which client/server communication
	   takes place. We discuss two approaches - query-server and
	   page-server - we have studied in the context of the graph
	   database management system GRAS which is used in the IPSEN
	   project. We focus this discussion on the impact the two
	   approaches have on DBMS architecture and functionality as well
	   as on performance with respect to the communication overhead
	   induced by them. The work which has been done to evaluate and
	   implement these approaches in GRAS is presented and problems of
	   both alternatives and the solution we have found are outlined.