Chapter 1. Understanding the Concepts of Replication

Replication is an important issue and, in order to get started, it is highly important to understand some basic concepts and theoretical ideas related to replication. In this chapter, you will be introduced to various concepts of replication, and learn which kind of replication is most suitable for which kind of practical scenario. By the end of the chapter, you will be able to judge whether a certain concept is feasible under various circumstances or not.

We will cover the following topics in this chapter:

• The CAP theorem and physical limitations of replication
• Different types of replication
• Synchronous and asynchronous replication
• Sharding and data distribution

The goal of this chapter is to give you a lot of insights into the theoretical concepts. This is truly important in order to judge whether a certain customer requirement is actually technically feasible or not. You will be guided through the fundamental ideas and important concepts related to replication.