Recovery algorithms for database systems

Philip A. Bernstein, Nathan Goodman and Vassos Hadzilacos

A database system (DBS) processes read and write operations issue by users' transactions to access the database. If a transaction fails in midstream, or if the system fails, the database may be left in an inconsistent state. The recovery algorithm of the DBS avoids these incorrect states by ensuring that the database only includes updates that are produced by transactions that executed to completion. This paper is a survey of recovery algorithms for centralized and distributed DBS's.