CAP theorem
The CAP theorem, also known as Brewer's theorem, states that it is impossible for a distributed computer system to simultaneously provide all three of the following guarantees:[1][2]
- Consistency (all nodes see the same data at the same time)
- Availability (node failures do not prevent survivors from continuing to operate)
- Partition Tolerance (the system continues to operate despite arbitrary message loss)
According to the theorem, a distributed system can satisfy any two of these guarantees at the same time, but not all three[3].
History
The theorem began as a conjecture made by University of California, Berkeley computer scientist Eric Brewer at the 2000 Symposium on Principles of Distributed Computing (PODC).[4] In 2002, Seth Gilbert and Nancy Lynch of MIT published a formal proof of Brewer's conjecture, establishing it as a theorem.[1]
References
- ^ a b Lynch, Nancy, and Seth Gilbert. “Brewer's conjecture and the feasibility of consistent, available, partition-tolerant web services.” ACM SIGACT News, v. 33 issue 2, 2002, p. 51-59.
- ^ julianbrowne.com: Brewer's CAP Theorem. Retrieved 02-Mar-2010.
- ^ royans.net: Brewers CAP theorem on distributed systems
- ^ Brewer, Eric. Towards Robust Distributed Systems
External links