raftbased

Raftbased is an adjective used to describe distributed systems, libraries, or architectures that are built on the Raft consensus algorithm. Raft is a leader-based algorithm for managing a replicated log and maintaining a consistent replicated state machine across a cluster of servers. Systems described as raftbased typically use Raft's mechanisms for leader election, log replication, safety, and membership changes to provide fault-tolerant coordination and data consistency.

Raft gained popularity as a more understandable alternative to Paxos and is commonly used in distributed key-value stores, service discovery systems, configuration management, and coordination services. Typical raftbased implementations provide a single leader that appends commands to a log, followers that replicate entries, and a commit rule based on a majority of nodes. Practical deployments add features such as log compaction (snapshots), persistent storage, and tooling for monitoring and recovery.

Advantages of raftbased designs include clear leadership semantics, strong consistency under normal conditions, and a relatively straightforward correctness proof. Limitations can include leader bottlenecks, sensitivity to network partitions, and the need to manage membership changes carefully. Raft does not address Byzantine faults and assumes non-Byzantine node behavior.

Raftbased software exists as standalone libraries and integrated components in many open-source projects, and architects choose raftbased solutions when they need predictable, strongly consistent coordination in small to medium-sized clusters.