Crash Fault Optimization

Definition ∞ Crash Fault Optimization involves designing distributed systems to remain operational even when some components fail by simply stopping. This optimization focuses on resilience against non-malicious failures, where nodes halt without corrupting data or acting adversarially. By simplifying the fault model from Byzantine faults to crash faults, protocols can achieve higher performance and scalability. Such systems are often used in environments where participants are assumed to be trustworthy but may experience technical outages.
Context ∞ Crash fault optimization is relevant in blockchain architectures that operate with a degree of trust among validators, such as certain permissioned blockchains or sidechains. While it offers performance gains, it inherently assumes a less adversarial environment than full Byzantine fault tolerance. News related to new consensus mechanisms often details their specific fault tolerance models and the trade-offs made for efficiency.