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ZooKeeper

A distributed coordination service, focused on the ZAB protocol, the data model, and ZK-based leader election, configuration centers and distributed locks.

ZooKeeper is a classic distributed coordination service. With its ordered, highly-available ZAB protocol and tree-shaped data model, it underpins leader election, configuration management and distributed locks. This subsection explains its internal protocol and common coordination patterns.

Articles

ZooKeeper Data Model and the ZAB Protocol

znode types and versions, session and Watcher, ZAB crash-recovery leader election and message broadcast, and zxid ordering.

Distributed Coordination in Practice

Leader election, configuration centers and distributed locks on ZK, the herd effect and ephemeral-sequential-node pitfalls, and trade-offs versus etcd.