{
  "slug": "chain-replication",
  "term": "Chain replication",
  "aliases": [],
  "definition": "Chain replication orders replicas so that updates enter at a head, propagate along the chain and complete at a tail that also serves queries.",
  "note": "The original OSDI 2004 protocol assumes fail-stop servers and reliable FIFO links. A master changes membership; the prototype replicates that master using Paxos. These are protocol assumptions, not arbitrary-partition availability or multi-object transaction guarantees.",
  "status": "research",
  "advantages": [],
  "limitations": [],
  "related": [
    "synchronous-replication",
    "linearizability"
  ],
  "supersedes": [],
  "supersededBy": [],
  "firstSeen": null,
  "lastSeen": null,
  "updated": "2026-10-12",
  "citations": [
    {
      "id": "chain-paper",
      "title": "Robbert van Renesse and Fred B. Schneider: Chain Replication for Supporting High Throughput and Availability, OSDI 2004, pp. 91-104",
      "url": "https://www.usenix.org/legacy/events/osdi04/tech/full_papers/renesse/renesse.pdf",
      "accessed": "2026-10-12"
    },
    {
      "id": "hesela-replication",
      "title": "Replication acknowledgements: received, durable, applied",
      "url": "https://hesela.com/analyses/replication-acknowledgements-durability-lag/",
      "accessed": "2026-10-12"
    }
  ]
}