In Previous Years Questions
ZooKeeper is an open-source, distributed coordination service used by large-scale distributed systems.
It provides a central hub for applications to manage shared data, synchronize actions, and maintain consistent state across a cluster of machines.
Think of it as a “traffic controller” for distributed systems, ensuring smooth and coordinated operation.
Some key features of ZooKeeper
- Distributed File System: It acts as a central repository for configuration data, service registry, and other critical information accessible by all nodes in the cluster.
- Synchronization Primitives: ZooKeeper provides primitives like locks, barriers, and queues to ensure consistent access and operation among distributed applications.
- Leader Election: It can elect a leader node to manage critical tasks and ensure consistency in case of failures.
- High Availability: ZooKeeper is designed to be highly available and fault-tolerant, ensuring continuous operation even if some nodes in the cluster fail.
Benefits of ZooKeeper
- Simple and Scalable: ZooKeeper offers a simple API and a lightweight architecture, making it easy to use and scale for large deployments.
- Reliable and Consistent: It provides robust synchronization mechanisms that guarantee data consistency and prevent conflicts in distributed systems.
- Flexible and Customizable: ZooKeeper can be configured and extended to meet the specific needs of different applications and environments.
- Open-source and Community-driven: Its open-source nature and active community contribute to continuous development and improvement.