Raft Consensus for Enterprise Blockchain: CFT vs BFT and Why Crash Tolerance Is Often Enough
· 8 min read
Consensus is the hardest problem in distributed systems, and blockchain platforms make it harder by treating every consensus algorithm choice as a religious debate. PBFT loyalists dismiss Raft as "not real consensus." Raft proponents point out that PBFT adds complexity most enterprise networks don't need.
The truth: for enterprise consortiums where all participants are known and bound by legal agreements, Raft-based Crash Fault Tolerance (CFT) is the pragmatic choice. Here's why, how it works, and when you actually need Byzantine Fault Tolerance (BFT).