Fault Tolerance
| English | Chinese | Pinyin |
|---|---|---|
| fault tolerant | 容错的 | róng cuò de |
| redundancy | 冗余 | rǒng yú |
| single point of failure | 单点故障 | dān diǎn gù zhàng |
Keeping working when parts fail
- A system is fault tolerant 容错的 when it keeps working even if part of it fails.
- The Internet is the famous example — no single failure can bring the whole thing down.
- This is a design goal, not luck.
- The question is how you build it in.
A fault-tolerant system:
No single failure brings the whole system down.
Having more than one path or copy so a backup takes over is called ______.
Redundancy is the main way to achieve fault tolerance.
Redundancy is the key
- The main way to achieve fault tolerance is redundancy 冗余.
- That means more than one path, or more than one copy, so a backup takes over.
- Because the network has many routes, packets take an alternate route around a broken link.
- This is exactly why the Internet is fault tolerant.
Fault tolerant, or a single point of failure?
Redundancy (extra paths or copies) makes a system fault tolerant; relying on one part with no backup creates a single point of failure.
A single point of failure is:
A network with one central router has a single point of failure.
Because the Internet has many routes, packets can go around a broken link.
Alternate routes are what make it fault tolerant.
Single point of failure
- The danger to avoid is a single point of failure 单点故障 — one part whose failure stops everything.
- A network with only one central router has a single point of failure.
- If that router dies, the whole system stops.
- Redundancy removes single points of failure by adding backups.
Why might a small blog accept a less reliable setup than a hospital?
Designers weigh the cost of redundancy against the reliability needed.
Running a website on two servers in different cities removes the single point of failure of one server.
If either server fails, the other keeps the site up.
Redundancy has a cost
- Redundancy is not free — extra cables, servers, and backups all cost money.
- Designers weigh the cost of redundancy against the reliability it buys.
One server vs two. A company runs its site on a single server — a single point of failure; if it crashes, the site goes offline. Adding a second server in another city means the site stays up if either fails. It costs twice as much, but for a business losing money every minute offline, the reliability is worth it.
A fault tolerant system keeps working when a part fails, achieved mainly through redundancy — extra paths or copies so a backup takes over. Avoid a single point of failure, one part that stops everything. Redundancy costs money, so designers weigh cost against the reliability it buys.