Every System is a Log: Avoiding coordination in distributed applications

Building resilient distributed applications poses significant challenges due to the complexity of managing failover strategies, retries, race conditions, and other coordination issues. The article explores a novel approach to simplify distributed systems by treating every component as a log, inspired by experiences with Apache Flink and the idea of "Turning the Database Inside Out." This approach proposes using a single log to manage state and coordination, thereby reducing complexity and improving efficiency. The authors introduce Restate, a practical implementation of this concept, which uses a log to orchestrate events, manage state, and ensure reliable execution without the need for distributed coordination. While acknowledging that this method isn't suitable for all operations within a distributed architecture, it offers a streamlined solution for specific scenarios, presenting a potential paradigm shift in how distributed systems are designed and managed. The article hints at future developments for Restate, including distributed deployments and further insights into its underlying architecture, positioning it as an open-source alternative to traditional log and database systems.