On the modeling of parallel access to shared data

Abstract

A model is constructed of a database that can be accessed and modified concurrently by a number of users, and an approximate solution is presented. The resource allocation policies considered involve dynamic acquisition of entities and locking; deadlock is avoided by limiting the number of consecutive attempts to acquire a particular entity. The accuracy of the approximation is evaluated by simulations. Several generalizations aimed at improving the practicality of the model are described.