Consistent hashing

Article summary

In computer science, consistent hashing is a special kind of hashing technique such that when a hash table is resized, only n/m keys need to be remapped on average where n is the number of keys and m is the number of slots. Consistent hashing evenly distributes cache keys across shards, even if some of the shards crash or become unavailable. In contrast, in most traditional hash tables, a change in the number of array slots causes nearly all keys to be remapped because the mapping between the keys and the slots is defined by a modular operation. Consistent hashing is used by Content Delivery Networks because it is useful for distributing requests for content from a rotating population of web servers. Tim Berners-Lee credits consistent hashing algorithms, and Daniel Lewin as their inventor, with solving the slashdotting problem which plagued the World Wide Web in the 1990s.

Key claims

1. date of foundation: 1998 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
2. release date: 1986 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95

Discussion questions

1. Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
2. The record states that the date of foundation is "1998". What evidence would count against this claim?
3. The record states that the release date is "1986". What evidence would count against this claim?
4. Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
5. If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?

Bibliography

1. Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1375814388