Using RAFT Replication with Global Data Services

Achieve automated, resilient, and consistent replication management with rapid failover for highly available distributed databases using RAFT replication.

RAFT replication is a consensus-based, distributed replication protocol designed to manage a group of database nodes (shards or replicas) and facilitate automatic configuration of replication across all shards in a distributed datbase. RAFT replication seamlessly integrates with applications, providing transparency in its operation. In case of shard host failures or dynamic changes in the distributed database's composition, RAFT replication automatically reconfigures replication settings. The system takes a declarative approach to configure the replication factor, ensuring a specified number of replicas are consistently available.

When RAFT replication is enabled, a distributed database contains multiple replication units. A replication unit (RU) is a set of chunks that have the same replication topology. Each RU has multiple replicas placed on different shards. The RAFT consensus protocol is used to maintain consistency between the replicas in case of failures, network partitioning, message loss, or delay.

Swift failover is a key attribute of RAFT replication. Swift failover enables all nodes to remain active even in the event of a node failure. Notably, this feature incorporates an automatic sub-second failover mechanism, reinforcing both data integrity and operational continuity. Such capabilities make this feature well-suited for organizations seeking a highly available and scalable database system.

Oracle GDS provides GDSCTL commands and options to enable and manage RAFT replication in a system-managed sharded database.

Enabling RAFT Replication

You enable RAFT replication when you configure the shard catalog. To enable RAFT replication, specify the native replication option in the create shardcatalog command when you create the shard catalog. For example, gdsctl> create shardcatalog ... -repl native

Note:

For more information regarding configuring and deploying RAFT Replication see: RAFT Replication Configuration and Management

Parent topic: Supported Replication Technologies and Implementation Architectures