11.5. Hot Rod Server Nodes

Consistent hashing algorithms arrange the hash space as a circle. Owners are assigned for segments of the hash space. When a key is assigned to an owner, the hash of the key is used to determine in which segment the key should be stored. If an owner is removed, then its segment is allocated to its neighbors in the circle. This means that if an owner is removed, most of the hash space remains stable, resulting in less overhead.