Thundering herd problem

The thundering herd problem is a performance-degrading phenomenon in computer science and computer networking that occurs when a large number of processes or threads are simultaneously awakened, typically in response to a specific event or the availability of a resource. However, only one process is able to respond to the event or access the new resource, causing most other processes to fail and go back to sleep. This unnecessary awakening consumes CPU and other system resources, potentially reducing overall performance and slowing the process that succeeds.

When the thundering herd problem occurs while attempting to access a cache, it is often referred to as a cache stampede.

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