How does Ethereum swarm work?

Could you elaborate on the workings of Ethereum Swarm, please? I'm particularly interested in understanding how it functions as a decentralized storage platform. How does it enable users to securely store and retrieve data in a distributed manner? Does it utilize any specific consensus mechanisms or encryption techniques? Furthermore, how does Swarm ensure data redundancy and availability, and how does it handle scalability issues as the network grows? Lastly, how does Swarm fit into the broader Ethereum ecosystem and what are some potential applications enabled by its capabilities?