Consensus algorithms at scale: Part 5 - Handling races

This post introduces the concepts of 'elector' and 'candidate' in distributed systems for leadership changes. It contrasts lock-based and lock-free approaches to resolving race conditions during leadership transitions. The lock-based approach is favored for its ability to provide a stable leader, simplifying operations and enabling efficient consistent reads, though it requires careful management of lock timeouts. The lock-free approach naturally supports forward progress but complicates consistent reads by necessitating quorum reads. The post recommends lock-based systems for large-scale consensus.