Database Integrity: Security, Reliability, and Performance Considerations

Database integrity is a central underlying issue in the implementation of database technology. Trust in the correctness of the data that is held by the database system is a prerequisite for using the data in business, research or decision making applications. This paper will begin by discussing the areas that pose challenges in ensuring database security and reliability. It will look at the benefits and limitations of possible hardware and software solution strategies, especially with respect to the considerations of system overhead and the effect on system performance. It will specifically discuss the use of error checking and correction codes to address integrity issues and consider how these codes may be used to help improve the performance of database systems.