Design Consistent Hashing

Consistent Hashing — System Design Deep Dive A consistent hashing algorithm is a technique that allows distributed systems to evenly distribute requests and data across a cluster of servers. At scale, consistent hashing becomes a fundamental building block for building reliable and horizontally scalable systems. Why Do We Need Consistent Hashing? Consistent hashing provides several important benefits: ✅ Minimizes data redistribution when servers join or leave ✅ Promotes even distribution of load across servers ✅ Protects systems from cascading failures during topology changes ✅ Reduces unnecessary cache misses at scale Real-World Examples Consistent hashing appears everywhere in modern distributed systems: Amazon DynamoDB uses it to partition and replicate data Apache Cassandra uses it to distribute data across nodes Akamai CDN uses it to route requests to edge servers In reality, the exact implementation depends entirely on your system's access patterns and infrastructure requirements