In theoretical computer science, the CAP theorem, also named Brewer's theorem after computer scientist Eric Brewer, states that it is impossible for a distributed data store to simultaneously provide more than two out of the following three guarantees:[1][2][3]
- Consistency: Every read receives the most recent write or an error
- Availability: Every request receives a (non-error) response, without the guarantee that it contains the most recent write
- Partition tolerance: The system continues to operate despite an arbitrary number of messages being dropped (or delayed) by the network between nodes
When a network partition failure happens should we decide to
- Cancel the operation and thus decrease the availability but ensure consistency
- Proceed with the operation and thus provide availability but risk inconsistency
The CAP theorem implies that in the presence of a network partition, one has to choose between consistency and availability. Note that consistency as defined in the CAP theorem is quite different from the consistency guaranteed in ACID database transactions.[4]
Eric Brewer argues that the often-used "two out of three" concept can be somewhat misleading because system designers only need to sacrifice consistency or availability in the presence of partitions, and that in many systems partitions are rare.[5][6]
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