What is exponential backoff and how is it used in practice?

What is exponential backoff and how is it used in practice?

Exponential backoff is a strategy for handling retries in network communications. It involves increasing the wait time between retries exponentially, which helps to reduce congestion and improve success rates.

Can you give me an example of how it works?

Sure! If a request fails, you might wait 1 second before retrying, then 2 seconds, then 4 seconds, and so on. This way, you give the system time to recover.

Why is it better than a fixed retry interval?

Using a fixed interval can lead to repeated collisions and congestion, especially in high-load situations. Exponential backoff helps to spread out the retries.

Are there any downsides to using exponential backoff?

One downside is that it can lead to longer wait times, especially if the initial failures are frequent. This might delay recovery in some scenarios.