Introduction to Distributed System Failures
Learn about the failures in distributed systems and the importance of independent vantage points.
Introduction
Once in a while, we encounter the failure of a service that’s a household name, and individuals and businesses react to them. As system designers, we might wonder how carefully designed services that have been perfected over years by experienced teams can also fail.
This chapter discusses some of the major failures of well-known services and the measures that can be taken to mitigate such failures.
The following two factors contribute to failures:
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Diverse users: Most services have a vibrant user community, and as their needs evolve, so do the software products. If a software doesn’t update in the way it provides new features and services, it will become stable over time. However, it might not have the features customers want.
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Complex systems: Systems are complex, and they usually have ...
