YugabyteDB is a geo-distributed SQL database that can be deployed across multiple data centers (DCs) or cloud regions. There are two primary configurations for such multi-DC deployments. The first configuration uses a single universe stretched across 3 or more data centers with data getting automatically sharded across all data centers. This configuration is default for [Spanner-inspired databases](../../architecture/docdb/) like YugabyteDB. Data replication across data centers is synchronous and is based on the Raft consensus protocol. This means writes are globally consistent and reads are either globally consistent or timeline consistent (when application clients use follower reads). Additionally, resilience against data center failures is fully automatic. This configuration has the potential to incur Wide Area Network (WAN) latency in the write path if the data centers are geographically located far apart from each other and are connected through the shared/unreliable Internet. For users not requiring global consistency and automatic resilience to data center failures, the WAN latency can be eliminated altogether through the second configuration where two independent, single-DC universes are connected through xCluster replication based on [Change Data Capture](../../architecture/docdb-replication/change-data-capture/). [9 Techniques to Build Cloud-Native, Geo-Distributed SQL Apps with Low Latency](https://www.yugabyte.com/blog/9-techniques-to-build-cloud-native-geo-distributed-sql-apps-with-low-latency/) highlights the various multi-DC deployment strategies for a distributed SQL database like YugabyteDB. Note that YugabyteDB is the only Spanner-inspired distributed SQL database to support a 2DC deployment.