In the distribution ownership model, a single master database owns the data. The master database is the read/write area, and all changes are made to this database only. All changes are then propagated to the remote sites in a read-only state. The remote sites cannot change the data, only view it. In terms of replication, the chief advantage to this model is that it greatly reduces data collision (conflicts between updates to the same record). This is because data changes are made at one site only.

The following figure illustrates the data distribution model.