A method for performing an update transaction in a database system that includes sending to a remote database client an update request to update data in a database system, in which the update request comprises a first checksum value corresponding to a state of the data in the database system as of the time of the update request. The method further includes receiving a reply from the remote database client that includes a new value for the data in the database system and the first checksum value. The method further includes determining whether the first checksum value matches a second checksum value corresponding to the state of the data in the database system as of the time that the database system received the reply, and if the first checksum value matches the second checksum value, the data in the database system is updated with the new value for the data.