[id="partition-handling-strategies_{context}"]
= Partition handling strategies

Partition handling strategies control if {brandname} allows read and write operations when a cluster is split.
The strategy you configure determines whether you get cache availability or data consistency.

.Partition handling strategies
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|===
| Strategy | Description | Availability or consistency

| `ALLOW_READ_WRITES`
| {brandname} allows read and write operations on caches while a cluster is split into network partitions.
Nodes in each partition remain available and function independently of each other.
This is the default partition handling strategy.
| Availability

| `DENY_READ_WRITES`
| {brandname} allows read and write operations only if all replicas of an entry are in the partition.
If a partition does not include all replicas of an entry, {brandname} prevents cache operations for that entry.
| Consistency

| `ALLOW_READS`
| {brandname} allows read operations for entries and prevents write operations unless the partition includes all replicas of an entry.
| Consistency with read availability

|===
