Cross-Region Replication Strategies
Cross-region replication strategies are methods of copying and synchronizing data across geographically distributed regions to ensure availability, performance, and disaster recovery.
When to Use
Adopt cross-region replication when building apps that need global availability, regulatory compliance, or disaster recovery. For example, serving customers on multiple continents, or keeping backups in separate regions to handle outages.
Example
Think of an e-commerce site with users in Europe and Asia—replicating data across both regions ensures low-latency browsing and resilient checkout during regional failures.
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Why Is It Important
Cross-region replication improves fault tolerance and user experience by ensuring data is closer to end users while protecting against downtime.
Interview Tips
Explain it clearly: define what replication is, give a simple example, and then mention trade-offs like consistency vs. latency. Show you can balance real-world system needs.
Trade-offs
You gain resilience and performance, but must manage higher costs, operational complexity, and potential data lag between regions.
Pitfalls
Avoid assuming replication solves everything. Common errors include underestimating latency, ignoring compliance requirements, or failing to handle conflicts when data updates in multiple regions.
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