Raft
A highly intuitive, replicated log consensus algorithm built around strong leaders, log replication, and security states.
What you'll learn
- Leader Node
- Follower State
- Candidate State
TL;DR
A highly intuitive, replicated log consensus algorithm built around strong leaders, log replication, and security states.
Visual System Topology
Raft Execution Topology
Concept Overview
Raft is a state-of-the-art consensus algorithm designed to manage a replicated transactional log across a cluster of distributed nodes. It was engineered to be highly understandable and implementable compared to classic Paxos, dividing consensus into distinct, sequential subproblems: leader election, log replication, and safety states.
Consensus algorithms are the core foundation of highly available distributed systems. They ensure that even if some hardware servers crash or network partitions occur, the remaining nodes can agree on the authoritative system state, preserving write durability and read consistency.
Key Architectural Pillars
Leader Node
The central authority in Raft. The leader manages all write requests, coordinates replication logs across followers, and periodically broadcasts heartbeats to maintain cluster dominance.
Follower State
Passive nodes that replicate the leader's transactional logs. If followers stop receiving heartbeat signals within a randomized timeout, they transition into candidates to start a new election.
Candidate State
A temporary transition state where a node increments the cluster's term index, votes for itself, and actively broadcasts requests for votes to neighboring nodes.