Epidemic Consensus Protocol

Definition ∞ An Epidemic Consensus Protocol is a type of agreement mechanism used in distributed systems where information spreads throughout the network like a disease. Nodes periodically exchange data with a subset of their neighbors, gradually disseminating updates across the entire system. This method prioritizes availability and partition tolerance over immediate consistency, allowing for eventual agreement among all participants. It is often applied in environments where network connectivity can be unreliable or inconsistent.
Context ∞ Epidemic Consensus Protocols are relevant in news discussing the resilience and scalability of certain distributed ledger technologies, especially those operating in highly dynamic network environments. Their design allows for robust operation despite network disruptions, though they may introduce latency in achieving global state agreement. Research continues into optimizing these protocols for faster convergence and enhanced security properties.