Definition
When a network partition leaves two sides each thinking they're the leader, accepting conflicting writes.
How it works
The classic distributed-systems failure: both halves act as primary and the data diverges. Prevented by requiring a majority quorum to act (a minority can't elect a leader) and by fencing tokens that let storage reject the stale leader's writes.
Common questions
What is Split Brain?
When a network partition leaves two sides each thinking they're the leader, accepting conflicting writes.
How does Split Brain work?
The classic distributed-systems failure: both halves act as primary and the data diverges. Prevented by requiring a majority quorum to act (a minority can't elect a leader) and by fencing tokens that let storage reject the stale leader's writes.
What is Split Brain used for in system design?
The classic distributed-systems failure: both halves act as primary and the data diverges. Prevented by requiring a majority quorum to act (a minority can't elect a leader) and by fencing tokens that let storage reject the stale leader's writes.