What is hot partition problem and how does it impact distributed systems?

A hot partition occurs when a single partition receives disproportionate traffic compared to others.

In distributed systems, data is partitioned across nodes for scalability. However, poor partition key selection can lead to uneven load distribution, where one partition becomes a bottleneck. This leads to increased latency, CPU overload, and reduced throughput. Solutions include salting keys, re-partitioning, and using dynamic partition balancing techniques.