Hadoop File System (HDFS) is a distributed file system mainly used to store and process large-scale data sets. HDFS is one of the core components of Apache Hadoop, which can support clusters of thousands of nodes and handle petabyte-level data.
HDFS cuts large files into small data blocks (default size is 128MB) and stores them dispersedly on various nodes in the cluster. Each data block has multiple backups to ensure data redundancy and reliability. When a node fails, HDFS can automatically perform fault tolerance and recovery.
HDFS provides a variety of APIs, including Java API, C++ API and command line tools, to facilitate users to access and operate data. HDFS also supports advanced features such as access control, data encryption, and snapshots.