Synchronous Consensus

Definition ∞ Synchronous consensus is a system where all network participants agree on transactions within a fixed, predictable time. This model of distributed agreement assumes that messages sent between any two nodes in a network are guaranteed to arrive within a known, finite time bound. Under this assumption, all honest participants can reach a collective decision on the order and validity of transactions, even in the presence of some faulty nodes. It offers strong safety and liveness guarantees, but relies on ideal network conditions.
Context ∞ While synchronous consensus offers strong theoretical guarantees, its strict network assumptions often prove challenging in real-world, wide-area blockchain deployments. Debates concern the practicality of enforcing message bounds and the vulnerability to network delays or partitions. Many modern blockchain protocols adopt partially synchronous or asynchronous models to achieve greater resilience, accepting some trade-offs in immediate finality.