A framework for semantic grouping in P2P databases

Sharing of structured data in decentralized environments is a challenging problem, especially in the absence of a global schema. Social network structures map network links to semantic relations between participants in order to assist in efficient resource discovery and information exchange. In this work, we propose a scheme that automates the process of creating schema synopses from semantic clusters of peers which own autonomous relational databases. The resulting mediated schemas can be used as global interfaces for relevant queries. Active nodes are able to initiate the group schema creation process, which produces a mediated schema representative of nodes with similar semantics. Group schemas are then propagated in the overlay and used as a single interface for relevant queries. This increases both the quality and the quantity of the retrieved answers and allows for fast discovery of interest groups by joining peers. As our experimental evaluations show, this method increases both the quality and the quantity of the retrieved answers and allows for faster discovery of semantic groups by joining peers.