Gossip Dissemination

Use a random selection of nodes to pass on information to ensure it reaches all the nodes in the cluster without flooding the network

Problem

In a cluster of nodes, each node needs to pass metadata it has to all the other nodes in the cluster, without depending on a shared storage. In a large cluster, if all servers communicate with all the other servers, a lot of network bandwidth can be consumed. Information should reach all the nodes even when some network links are experiencing issues.

Solution

Cluster nodes use gossip-like communication to propagate state updates. Each node selects a random node to pass the information it has. This is done at a regular interval, say every 1 second. Each time, a random node is selected to pass on the information.

for more details go to Chapter 28 of the online ebook at oreilly.com

This pattern is part of Patterns of Distributed Systems

23 November 2023