Two data centers used for retail credit authorization are located in two different major population centers, which are separated from each other by a large zone of very little population. Each data center is intended to cover a particular geographical area and thus contains data that reflect the account status of the cardholders in that area (only). Terminals for each area are connected to the corresponding data center.

Communication between both data centers occurs only in case a cardholder from one geographical area shops in a retail credit establishment of the geographical area covered by the other data center.

a. Classify the relationship between each terminal and the corresponding data center as either client/server or peer-to-peer.

b. Classify the relationship between both data centers as either client/server or peerto-

peer.

c. Classify the database of the retail credit system as either partitioned or replicated.

d. Is this approach to distributed data processing suitable for the scenario described?

Why or why not?

e. Would this approach be suitable if the two major population centers were close to each other? Why or why not?