In addition to distributing information across the cluster for the purposes of even data distribution and performance, Couchbase Server also includes the ability to create additional replicas of the data. These replicas work in tandem with the vBucket structure, with replicas of individual vBuckets distributed data around the cluster. Distribution of replicas is handled in the same way as the core data, with portions of the data distributed around the cluster to prevent a single point of failure.

The replication of this data around this cluster is entirely peer-to-peer based, with the information being exchanged directly between nodes in the cluster. There is no topology, hierarchy or master/slave relationship. When the data is written to a node within the cluster, the data is stored directly in the vBucket and then distributed to one or more replica vBuckets simultaneously using the TAP system.

In the event of a failure of one of the nodes in the system, the replica vBuckets are enabled in place of the vBuckets that were failed in the bad node. The process is near-instantaneous. Because the replicas are populated at the same time as the original data, there is no need for the data to be copied over; the replica vBuckets are there waiting to be enabled with the data already within them. The replica buckets are enabled and the vBucket structure updated so that clients now communicate with the updated vBucket structure.

Replicas are configured on each bucket. You can configure different buckets to contain different numbers of replicas according to the required safety level for your data. Replicas are only enabled once the number of nodes within your cluster support the required number of replicas. For example, if you configure three replicas on a bucket, the replicas will only be enabled once you have four nodes.