Gossiping in distributed systems

Gossip-based algorithms were first introduced for reliably disseminating data in large-scale distributed systems. However, their simplicity, robustness, and flexibility make them attractive for more than just pure data dissemination alone. In particular, gossiping has been applied to data aggregation, overlay maintenance, and resource allocation. Gossiping applications more or less fit the same framework, with often subtle differences in algorithmic details determining divergent emergent behavior. This divergence is often difficult to understand, as formal models have yet to be developed that can capture the full design space of gossiping solutions. In this paper, we present a brief introduction to the field of gossiping in distributed systems, by providing a simple framework and using that framework to describe solutions for various application domains.