View Changes

Definition ∞ View changes are a mechanism within certain distributed consensus protocols, particularly Byzantine Fault Tolerance systems, allowing the network to recover from a faulty or unresponsive leader node. When a leader fails to propose blocks or transactions, nodes initiate a view change to select a new leader and preserve liveness. This process ensures continuous operation despite participant failures.
Context ∞ View changes are a critical element for the robustness and fault tolerance of many modern blockchain and distributed ledger protocols, especially those targeting high transaction finality. News reports might mention view changes when discussing network stability, recovery from outages, or protocol upgrades designed to enhance resilience. The efficiency and reliability of this mechanism directly influence a network’s capacity to maintain uptime and process transactions consistently under adverse circumstances.