This document provides an overview of database management systems (DBMS). It discusses what a DBMS is, its architecture and components. A DBMS allows for centralized control of data to reduce redundancy and inconsistencies. It also provides data sharing, integrity, security and recovery mechanisms. The document describes the entity-relationship, network, relational and object-oriented data models. It also discusses the three-tier architecture of a DBMS and the concept of data abstraction through the three schema architecture.