Single Active
Single Active is a design pattern and architectural concept used in distributed systems and concurrent programming to ensure that only one instance or component is actively processing tasks at any given time, while others remain in standby or passive states. It is commonly applied in high-availability setups, such as in database clusters, message queues, or load balancers, to prevent conflicts, data corruption, or resource contention. This pattern helps maintain system reliability and consistency by coordinating active roles among redundant components.
Developers should learn and use Single Active when building fault-tolerant systems that require high availability and minimal downtime, such as in financial services, e-commerce platforms, or critical infrastructure. It is essential in scenarios where multiple instances could cause issues like duplicate processing or race conditions, such as in leader election mechanisms, job schedulers, or distributed locks. By implementing Single Active, developers can ensure seamless failover and recovery, improving system resilience and performance under failures.