Principles of database buffer management

This paper discusses the implementation of a database buffer manager as a component of a DBMS. The interface between calling components of higher system layers and the buffer manager is described; the principal differences between virtual memory paging and database buffer management are outlined; the notion of referencing versus addressing of database pages is introduced; and the concept of fixing pages in the buffer to prevent uncontrolled replacement is explained. Three basic tasks have to be performed by the buffer manager: buffer search, allocation of frames to concurrent transactions, and page replacement. For each of these tasks, implementation alternatives are discussed and illustrated by examples from a performance evaluation project of a CODASYL DBMS.