A replication factor in distributed systems refers to the number of copies (replicas) of data distributed across multiple nodes in a cluster. A higher replication factor improves data availability and fault tolerance by reducing data loss risk, allowing the system to retrieve data from one of the other nodes if one node goes down. Different replication strategies, such as synchronous and asynchronous replication, partitioning, and dynamic adjustments, can affect how data is stored and retrieved across nodes, influencing system performance. Selecting an optimal replication factor depends on specific data requirements, including availability, performance, and risk tolerance, and balancing these elements means the cluster operates efficiently without compromising fault tolerance. Aerospike's unique consistency algorithm and architecture minimize hardware costs while maintaining high data availability, scalability, and flexibility, making it a more budget-friendly solution compared to other systems like Cassandra.