# Availability and Partition Tolerance

## Metadata
- Author: [[stackoverflow.com]]
- Full Title: Availability and Partition Tolerance
- Category: #articles
- Summary: The text discusses the CAP theorem, focusing on availability (AP) and consistency (CP) when dealing with network partitions. It explains that AP allows independent operation during a partition, while CP restricts operations to ensure consistency. The author prefers systems that can adapt to both AP and CP needs, as different problems may require different approaches.
- URL: https://stackoverflow.com/questions/12346326/cap-theorem-availability-and-partition-tolerance
## Highlights
- Consistency means that data is the same across the cluster, so you can read or write from/to any node and get the same data. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01jv8j8r2q4vbc1d908bg2415v))
- Availability means the ability to access the cluster even if a node in the cluster goes down. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01jv8j971btx7nh60c6akrfbef))
- Partition tolerance means that the cluster continues to function even if there is a "partition" (communication break) between two nodes (both nodes are up, but can't communicate). ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01jv8j9eh4qfh4saeemt5pb1pa))