Lesson 2.3
Consistency models and CAP
When the network partitions you choose consistency or availability. Most real systems pick a different answer per operation.
6mIntermediate10,947 students
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Overview
When the network partitions you choose consistency or availability. Most real systems pick a different answer per operation.
What this lesson covers
- Place a system on the consistency spectrum
- Choose guarantees per operation, not per database
- Explain the user-visible effect of eventual consistency
This lesson sits in Data at Scale, part of System Design Foundations. It assumes what came before it and leads directly into the next lesson in the module.
In this lesson you will:
- Place a system on the consistency spectrum
- Choose guarantees per operation, not per database
- Explain the user-visible effect of eventual consistency
Pro Tip
Ask what the user sees when a read is stale. That answer picks your consistency model faster than any theorem.