Gossip Protocol

Gossip Protocol is a decentralized communication protocol used in [distributed software] to spread information across all nodes.

It is inspired by the way humans share news by word-of-mouth, where each person who learns the information shares it with others, leading to widespread dissemination.

How it works

  1. Initialization: A node in the system starts with a piece of information, known as a gossip.

  2. Gossip Exchange: At regular intervals, each node randomly selects another node and shares its current gossip. The receiving node then merges the received gossip with its own.

  3. Propagation: The process repeats, with each node spreading the gossip to others.

  4. Convergence: Eventually, every node in the network will have received the gossip, ensuring that all nodes have consistent information.