What is erasure coding and how does it work?

What is erasure coding and how does it work?

Erasure coding is a data protection technique that breaks data into fragments, expands it with redundant data pieces, and stores it across different locations. This way, even if some fragments are lost, the original data can still be reconstructed.

What are the advantages of using erasure coding over traditional RAID?

Erasure coding offers better fault tolerance and storage efficiency compared to traditional RAID. It can recover from multiple failures and typically requires less overhead, making it more suitable for large-scale data storage.

In what scenarios is erasure coding most beneficial?

Erasure coding is particularly beneficial in cloud storage, distributed systems, and large data centers where data durability and availability are critical.

Can you explain how erasure coding is implemented in cloud storage?

In cloud storage, erasure coding is implemented by dividing data into chunks, encoding them with redundancy, and distributing these chunks across multiple servers. This ensures that even if some servers fail, the data can still be retrieved.