Comparison of Network Structures

Task 1

1.1  Relational Database:

The data structure that has a logical structure in a form of a table is called a relational database. It is a data storage that is stored in several columns. it is a collection of data that are related to each other with a pre-defined relationship.

The data is well organised in a set of tables and tables have columns that holds the data. every data field stores the real value of an attribute. The table rows represents a values of each object or entity. The data in each tables can be related to each other with the help of unique identifier which can be set as a primary key that can refer to the other table of same column.

This data can be used in various ways without rearranging the whole database.

The advantage of relation database is that it is easy to format that helps data accessibility easier.

Whereas the disadvantage can be it constrained by schema structure which can require a rewriting the whole database if the change of schema is required.

(What is a Relational Database?, n.d.) 

(padakuu.com, n.d.)

1.2.   Hierarchical:

In 0hierarchical 0data model, the data is maintained in a tree-like structure. The records or the data entered in 0hierarchical 0database is connected to each other through links. The fields in 0hierarchical 0database has only single value and it defines the 0type 0of 0field that 00record 0contains.

The 0records in the 0hierarchical 0database 0model 0is 0similar 0to 0a 0row 0in the 0relational 0model. The tables or table entities are connected to each other. The database can only have one main parent that can have more than one child.

The 0hierarchical database is less flexible than other database models. The data needs to save in many different entities repeatedly. The database search can be very slow if the search is made for the lowest entity. (Hierarchical Database, n.d.)

The advantage of the hierarchical database, the addition and deletion of any new information is easy. The main data of the hierarchy is easy to access. The design is very simple like a tree or a family tree, like one main company president has different managers.

(Hierarchical Data Model, n.d.) 

1.3.   Network:

Unlike 0hierarchical 0data model, that has one parent with several children. The network model can have as many as parent connected to the child data records. Child can be linked to multiple parents in this type of database model.

One of the advantages of the network model is that it supports many to many relationships and can handle it better than the other database models.

The disadvantage being it is more complicated that the simple hierarchical model and can become hard to maintain if the data grows. It is more flexible than hierarchical model, but it can have a flexibility problem of the data is too big to handle. The structure can also get complicated, so the designer has to properly understand it before modifying or making any changes as required. If the wrong child is assigned to a wrong parent, the database will give the incorrect information to the end user. (Network Data Model, 2018)

(Network Model, n.d.) 

1.4.   Object Oriented

The data is represented as an object or a class in object-oriented database model. 0The 0object 0here is a 0real-0world 0entity 0and 0a 0class 0is 0a 0collection 0of 0objects. It can be used combinedly with a relation database or can be used as an alternate for relation database management system. There are some principles that needs to be followed while implementing the object-oriented database that is similar to the object-oriented programming.  Some of the principles and features are Inheritance, Encapsulation, Integrity and Query processing.

All the entities are considered object and the each object has its own properties to function. The identification of each object is done through the unique object identifier. The classes in object-oriented database model is the collection of the similar objects. Encapsulation in the OODB is that the information is secure and only required or needed information will be given to the user instead of displaying all the information.

The data can be shared very easily with a right permission is OODBs being one of the advantages. The disadvantage is that can only be used for a real-life objects and not the services. (Frantiska, n.d.)

(Object-Oriented Database, n.d.) 

Task 2

Data access: The access that is granted to the user to view the data depends on the access privileges of the user. Any unauthorised access (unauthorised access means anyone outside the organisation trying to access the data or trying to break in by using the hacking software) to the data can be a threat to the data. The data access should only be given to the person working in the same organisation. Example: the user working in different department of the same organisation can steal the data of other department if the access is given to them. (Why Data Accessibility Is the Biggest Issue of Our Time, n.d.)

Shared use: Sharing the data means giving the access of the data to multiple people. Sharing data with an untrusted source can led to a potential threat to the data. Sharing can be a big issue if the data is shared with the information that is confidential to the user who donot needed htat shared data. For example if the hospital data of every patient is shared with the all nurses can cause an issue and one of nurses can misuse the data by talking about the patient’s condition with an outsider.(What is data sharing?, 2019)

Logging: The data logging can be an issue if the data is not syncing properly.To save the records of the data in a log is called a data logging. The history of any modifications made can be saved in logs. The user information is also logged in the database. for example if the user has left the organisation but his details are still saved in log files that can take up unnecessary space. (What is Data Logging , n.d.)

Audit: The auditing can be an issue because for auditing the data has to share with the external sources like auditing officers. Auditing the data keeps the track of how the data is working. How is it used and all the procedures are been followed and all the information provided is correct and is not out of date. For example the auditors will have the full access to the data can be sometimes not good for the organisation to let external people have the access to the internal data. (3 Data Access Problems, 6 Ways To Achieve Full Data Governance, n.d.)

Authentication: The way to confirm if the access granted to the right persons by authenticating the user with the usernames and password entered. if there is not authentication procedures are followed the data can be opened to anyone. For example: If any outsider gets the access of any staff username and password can have the access to the data is a authentication issue. (3 Data Access Problems, 6 Ways To Achieve Full Data Governance, n.d.)

Authorization: The authorization is the procedure to check the users authority to the data and letting the user with proper authorization to access the data. The authorization is defined by the users rule as some users may have only the view permission while others may have the read and write permission. The issue with data authorization can be if any staff logging in to the external machine outside of organisation and forgot to logout then anyone can use that machine and access the data with authorization as that staff member. (Overview of database authorization , n.d.)

Integrity: If the data is not up to date or has the information which is not relevant can cause an integrity issues. Data availability on all the time with an accurate information is the data integrity. Saving the data from any type of corruption to keep the data secure is the main function of the data integrity. for example if the user is looking for the information about the particular book but finds the information about the movie is not correct. (What is Data Integrity? , n.d.)

Privacy: Data like usernames and passwords should be kept private if possible, it can be an issue if it is shared with too many people. for example if the user login details are shared with the staff and not handled properly than it can be leaked or compromised. (Data Privacy: Definition, Explanation and Guide, n.d.)

Risk: The data can be at risk if the data is not secured. for example the data is open to access by anyone without password. If the data is not up to date the data can be considered as a risk of data redundancy. (Data Privacy: Definition, Explanation and Guide, n.d.)

Password: The issue can occur if the password given to the user is not strong and can be easily hacked. for example if the password is set to password or a very simple password that can lead to a data security issue and the hackers can easily hack the password and get in to the company’s database.

Integration: The data integration can be an issue if the data shared with third party to integrate with their website or data. for example if the data needs to be integrated with the other company without doing the research about the company. (What is data integration?, n.d.)

Reliability: If the data is not reliable the data could be at risk of losing the trust and that can be an issue. for example the user logging to the database to find the information about their medical records but the information is not available or partially available can cause the user an issue. ( in: Data, Security, Definition Data reliability, n.d.)

Task 3

Data access: To solve any data access issue the database admins should be able to set permissions on the database so that the staff gets the access to the data according to the position in the organisation. (3 Data Access Problems, 6 Ways To Achieve Full Data Governance, n.d.)

Shared use: To solve any shared use of database the database admins should decide the privileges given to the staff or any users need to access the data. The administrator should share the limited data with the users to avoid the risk to the data. (3 Data Access Problems, 6 Ways To Achieve Full Data Governance, n.d.)

Logging: Keep the systems up dated and install the proper software or do the configuration to log the data regularly to solve any issues with logging.

Audit: The complete auditing can be performed on the database and its use. the auditing can track any suspicious activity and protect the data from any damage. So to solve any issues with the data, the auditing should be done at least once a month internally or can hire any external auditors.

Authentication: Proper procedures should be followed to authenticate the user to use the data by giving username and password to get into the database and the password should be set up to be changed after few months or days.

Authorization: To solve any authorization issues, the biometrics techniques can be used like user’s fingerprint as a password to access the database.

Integrity: The data should be checked and update every time as needed to provide the right information to the users that can solve any integrity issues.

Privacy: The data should be handled properly and kept secure behind the strong passwords so that data is kept private. The database administrators should have the control over the data of how much data should be shared and how much data should be kept private.

Risk: Working on data risks like data loss or data corruption can help preventing any kind of data risk. Keeping it secure with a password and encrypting it can help preventing the stealing of the data.

Password: The password should always be very strong and the users should keep it changing so that it is hard to hack and protect the data. The notifications can be configured so that the user get notified to change the password every month.

Integration: The bring out most out of the data, the data can be integrated with other apps to provide the better services to the clients. The integration could either be logical or physical.

Reliability: The data should always be accurate so that the users get the most reliable information to solve any data reliability issues the monitoring tools can be installed to notify if any data is out of date or not relevant.

Task 4: Database tools (Top Five Best Database Management Tools, n.d.)

phpMyAdmin: This is the well-known tool to manage the database. It is web based management tool which is open source and very simple to use. The graphical interface is not very great or pretty but the usage is easy as it is kept simple. New database creation option is available, or maintain the database that is already designed can also be done. It is a web-based MySQL manager tool.

The database users can be maintained in phpadmin web-based tool. The data optimization can be done and it can also check for errors in the database. adding tables, columns or updating any data can also be easily done in this tool. The relational databases can be easily created and primary and foreign keys can be assigned to create an relationship between the database.

Importing and exporting the data is also possible to do, the backing up of the database can be set to do in the preferred time.. The installation is very easy. The books or online resources are available to learn more about the phpMyAdmin tool to manage the database.

The example of the tool is below in figure-1, it is seen that the new database can be created under MySQL localhost..

figure-1

Navicat for MySQL: To create or manage the relational database is easy with this tool. It can be installed on Windows machine, Mac apple machines or a Linux machine. This tool is designed and developed by a company called PremiumSoft. Creating a complex database is easy to do with Navicat tool and can be done more quicker compared to other database tools.

Importing, exporting or taking the backup of the data can be done easily with the help of this tool. It also has the function of report building that cab create a reports of all important database information and can be printed or exported for a normal user to understand who is not an database administrator or database specialist.

Every regular tasks can be performed regarding the database the existing database can be added to the tool and managed or creating a new database is also possible with in the tool. The tasks can be scheduled to do it when needed.

The front-end software can also be designed with navicat by the company called PremiumSoft to maintain the database designed in Oracle or PostgreSQL. Lite version and a premium version is also available to purchase. There are some key features available on a premium version of the software compared to the lite version.

Figure-2 shows the example of the software.

figure-2

SQLyog: This tool is designed by the Indian-based company called Webyog. The tool is considered to be very useful and outstanding tool for database administrators. It also has the free community version to use. The premium version is available with good features.

Data can be manipulated like data insert, delete or update can it can be done on a simple spreadsheet like interface. The queries can also be handled on both raw data table or as a result set. It has the visual schema and query builder.

The database already used by the organisation can be connected to the software by using the direct client/server using MySQL API. The wizard tools are available for easy data importing or exporting. The database backups can be scheduled to take the backups every day and store it safely. The reports can be created regularly with the tools and can be automatically done once scheduled or configured. The quires reports can be exported or received as an HTML format. The search options available with in the tool to search any data within the database.

It can be installed on Windows and Linux machines. The support is provided to the customers with the help of live chat and ticketing support. (SQLyog, n.d.)

 figure-3 below shows the example of the software.

figure-3

Task 5: Database monitoring tools (KEARY, 2018)

Spiceworks SQL Server Monitoring: It is a well known SQL server monitoring tool. It checks the database health quickly and supports SQL Server 2005 and up. The charts and graphs are shown which can be customised easily. The charts can be created of the pretences that needs to be monitored by selecting or deselecting the options like processors blocked or CPU Queue Length. The results can be exported or seen in various formats.

The dashboard can also be customised that can help monitoring the important parts of the database., the example of the dashboard is seen in figure-4 below.

figure-4

Lepide SQL Server Auditing: Many bog companies use this tool to protect the database by monitoring with Lepide. It is a complete software which provides a live and historic SQL monitoring. The dashboard interface shows all components of the database server. The dashboard is designed in such a way that the database administrators can easily see any changes done on database instantly (like any changes done in user permissions or configurations, etc).

The alerts can be seen in real time and notifications can be sent to the database admins of any threats to data. figure-5 below shows the example of the grid view of the software.

           figure-5

Task 6: Implementing database security policies

( Oracle® Database Security Guide, n.d.) 

Security: The data security policy should be in considered to keep the data secure by controlling user access to the database by determining the privileges of every user. Data security should be based on the sensitive of the data for example the salary of the staff should not be shared or visible to everyone as it can be sensitive information.

Database monitoring: Monitor the database or installing the monitoring tool can help to keep the data secure by alerting any issues that needs attention. Database monitors can monitor all the IT components that helps database servers running.

Database user management: The users logs should be maintained and the users should have a strong passwords to access the database and has to go through some authentication procedures to verify them a staff member like using fingerprint scans or face recognition to authorise the access to the data. Only database admins should have a full access to the database and other users should only have the access that to part of the data that are useful for the user. The users should be regularly checked and any old users should be deleted from the database to restrict the access of any unauthorised users.

Password Aging and Expiration: The passwords created by the users should have a limit of use like the staff can use the same password for a month and then they need to change it and it should be forced by the database admins. The grace period of the password expiration can be set. The limit of trying to logging should also be configured for every user, like if the user is trying to logging and if the wrong password is entered for 3 times the account should be locked and the user has to visit the administrator to reset the password.

Creating a security checklist: While designing or creating a database, it will be useful to create a checklist of database security according to the company’s requirement and implement that to keep the data secure.

Bibliography

• (n.d.). Retrieved from padakuu.com: http://www.padakuu.com/article/295-relational-databases
• in: Data, Security, Definition Data reliability. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://itlaw.wikia.org: https://itlaw.wikia.org/wiki/Data_reliability
• Oracle® Database Security Guide. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://docs.oracle.com/: https://docs.oracle.com/cd/B12037_01/network.101/b10773/policies.htm
• 3 Data Access Problems, 6 Ways To Achieve Full Data Governance. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.cmswire.com: https://www.cmswire.com/cms/information-management/3-data-access-problems-6-ways-to-achieve-full-data-governance-013432.php
• Data Privacy: Definition, Explanation and Guide. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.varonis.com: https://www.varonis.com/blog/data-privacy/
• Frantiska, J. (n.d.). What is an Object-Oriented Database? Retrieved from study.com: https://study.com/academy/lesson/what-is-an-object-oriented-database.html
• Hierarchical Data Model. (n.d.). Retrieved from databasemanagement.fandom.com: https://databasemanagement.fandom.com/wiki/Category:Hierarchical_Data_Model
• Hierarchical Database. (n.d.). Retrieved from dbmsinternals.com: http://www.dbmsinternals.com/database-fundamentals/basic-architecture/hierarchical-data-model/
• KEARY, T. (2018, October 25). 9 Best Database Monitoring Tools. Retrieved from https://www.comparitech.com: https://www.comparitech.com/net-admin/best-database-monitoring-tools/
• Network Data Model. (2018, July 25). Retrieved from tutorialspoint.com: https://www.tutorialspoint.com/Network-Data-Model
• Network Model. (n.d.). Retrieved from dbmsinternals.com: http://www.dbmsinternals.com/database-fundamentals/basic-architecture/network-model/
• Object-Oriented Database. (n.d.). Retrieved from Slideplayer.com: https://slideplayer.com/slide/4966102/
• Overview of database authorization . (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.ibm.com: https://www.ibm.com/support/knowledgecenter/en/SSPT3X_4.2.0/com.ibm.swg.im.infosphere.biginsights.analyze.doc/doc/bi_admin_biga_dbauth.html
• Relational Database (RDB). (n.d.). Retrieved from techopedia.com: https://www.techopedia.com/definition/1234/relational-database-rdb
• SQLyog. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SQLyog#Features
• Top Five Best Database Management Tools. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.webfx.com: https://www.webfx.com/blog/web-design/top-five-best-database-management-tools/
• What is a Relational Database? (n.d.). Retrieved from https://aws.amazon.com/: https://aws.amazon.com/relational-database/
• What is data integration? (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.ibm.com: https://www.ibm.com/analytics/data-integration
• What is Data Integrity? . (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.veracode.com: https://www.veracode.com/blog/2012/05/what-is-data-integrity
• What is Data Logging . (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.morpheusdata.com/: https://www.morpheusdata.com/blog/2016-03-23-what-is-data-logging
• What is data sharing? (2019, March 26). Retrieved from whistleout.com: https://www.whistleout.com/CellPhones/Guides/what-is-data-sharing
• Why Data Accessibility Is the Biggest Issue of Our Time. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://datamakespossible.westerndigital.com: https://datamakespossible.westerndigital.com/data-accessibility-biggest-issue-time/