Database replication is difficult but indispensable. We report on our experiences building and deploying middleware-based replication systems both as commercial products and research systems. We identify gaps that still separate academic research from industrial practiceand thus thwart potential technology transfer from academia to the field. We structure our analysis along three axes -- performance, availability and management -- and outline unmet database replication challenges at several levels. We hope to both motivate and aid researchers in bridging these gaps between theory and practice . We sift through  the last decade of open-source, academic, and commercial database replication systems and combine this material with case studies resulting from developing and deploying real systems at many customer sites . We propose two agendas, one for academic research and one for industrial R&D, which we expect can bridge the gaps within 5-10 years  .
The need for high availability and performance in data management systems has been fueling a long running interest in database replication from both academia and industry. However, academic groups often attack replication problems in isolation, overlooking the need for completeness in their solutions, while commercial teams take a holistic approach that often misses opportunities for fundamental innovation. This has created over time a gap between academic research and industrial practice. This paper aims to characterize the gap along three axes : performance, availability , and administration. We build on our own experience developing and deploying replication systems in commercial and academic settings, as well as on a large body of prior related work . We sift through representative examples from the last decade of open-source, academic, and commercial database replication systems and combine this material with case studies from real systems deployed at Fortune 500 customers . We propose two agendas, one for academic research and one for industrial R&D, which we believe can bridge the gap within 5-10 years . This way, we hope to both motivate and help researchers in making the theory and practice of middleware-based database replication more relevant to each other .
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Database replication is difficult but indispensable. We report on our experiences building and deploying middleware-based replication systems both as commercial products and research systems. We identify gaps that still separate academic research from industrial practiceand thus thwart potential technology transfer from academia to the field. We structure our analysis
The need for high availability and performance in data management systems has been fueling a long running interest in database replication from both academia and industry. However, academic groups often attack replication problems in isolation, overlooking the need for completeness in their solutions, while commercial teams take a holistic approach that often misses opportunities for fundamental innovation. This has created over time a gap between academic research and industrial practice. This paper aims to characterize the gap
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and management -- and outline unmet database replication challenges at several levels. We hope to both motivate and aid researchers in bridging these gaps between theory and practice
, and administration. We build on our own experience developing and deploying replication systems in commercial and academic settings, as well as on a large body of prior related work
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representative examples from
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resulting from developing and deploying real systems at many customer sites
from real systems deployed at Fortune 500 customers
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expect
believe
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gaps
gap
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. This way, we hope to both motivate and help researchers in making the theory and practice of middleware-based database replication more relevant to each other