Reliable Broadcast Protocol

Definition ∞ A reliable broadcast protocol is a fundamental distributed computing primitive that ensures a message sent by one process is eventually delivered to all other non-faulty processes in the network, and all non-faulty processes deliver the same message. This protocol guarantees both validity, meaning a delivered message was indeed sent, and agreement, meaning all processes deliver the same message. It is a critical building block for achieving consensus in distributed systems, including blockchains. It ensures consistent information dissemination across a network.
Context ∞ In blockchain technology, reliable broadcast protocols are essential for the secure and consistent propagation of transactions and blocks across decentralized networks. News regarding consensus algorithm advancements or network security often implicitly relies on the robustness of these underlying protocols. Research continues to optimize reliable broadcast for efficiency and resilience against various adversarial conditions, directly impacting the scalability and fault tolerance of distributed ledgers.