Which of the following is a disadvantage of replication?

Solution (By Examveda Team)

While replication offers several advantages in a distributed database system, it also comes with certain disadvantages or limitations.

Option A: Reduced network traffic
This option describes a potential advantage of replication rather than a disadvantage. Replication can indeed reduce network traffic by allowing local access to data copies, thereby minimizing the need for data transfer across network links.

Option B: If the database fails at one site, a copy can be located at another site.
This option highlights a benefit of replication in terms of fault tolerance and high availability. Having copies of the database at multiple sites ensures data redundancy and resilience against failures. It does not represent a disadvantage of replication.

Option C: Each site must have the same storage capacity.
This option correctly identifies a disadvantage of replication. In a replication setup, each site hosting a copy of the database must have sufficient storage capacity to accommodate the replicated data. Ensuring uniform storage capacity across all sites can be challenging and may lead to resource constraints or inefficiencies, especially in heterogeneous environments where sites have different storage capabilities or requirements.

Option D: Each transaction may proceed without coordination across the network.
This option describes a characteristic of loosely coupled distributed systems rather than a specific disadvantage of replication. In distributed databases with replication, transactions may indeed proceed independently at each site without requiring immediate coordination across the network. While this decentralization of transaction processing can improve performance and scalability, it also introduces complexities related to maintaining data consistency and isolation.

Therefore, in the context of disadvantages of replication in a distributed database system, the correct option is Each site must have the same storage capacity (Option C).