What Every CEO Needs to Know about Fault Tolerance

There are several server and big iron keywords which have been lumped together simply because they sound alike. These include “high availability,” “mission critical,” and “fault tolerance.”

An IT solutions company in the Philippines explains that fault tolerance, which basically means that vital systems still continue to function even after some of its other components fail, starts as a requirement, and eventually becomes part of the company’s IT system design.

 

When Things Fall Apart

 

Companies offering IT services and solutions stress on the importance of fault tolerance. Experts say it requires looking at a whole system which includes network and internal connections, storage, power, and hardware cooling.

In the corporate setting, fault tolerance presumes that an error will happen and that it will be repaired, replaced, or otherwise corrected in due time. However, it is important to note that even though the system continues to function while the fault remains, there will be some performance degradation. The fault tolerant design will allow the system to continue running its operations—but at a reduced level, instead of failing completely.

 

What CEOs Need to Know about Fault Tolerance

 

As the CEO, you will need to understand several critical points about fault tolerance. Among them are:

 

1. A fault tolerant system isn’t the same as a highly available one.

As mentioned earlier, these two terms may be closely related but they are not the same. A highly available network goes beyond just being fault tolerant; it must be able to recover from a failure without missing a beat. This will entail carrying out patches, data migrations, and app updates in real time. If you want this kind of system, you can consult your IT solutions company for a detailed plan.

 

2. A completely fault tolerant system is a costly investment.

Needless to say, developing a fault tolerant system is quite expensive. It’s something that is vital to everyday operations, though, so it might be something that should be discussed at the next Board meeting.

 

3. The software side of a fault tolerant system is complicated.

It’s not enough to have redundancy, as most often as not, you would need a multi-platform service to ensure that the system is fault tolerant. This could become a nightmare to maintain, and would be best left in the able hands of an experienced IT services company.

 

4. Systems still get compromised even if they’re fault tolerant.

A fault tolerant system will continue operating even after one or more components fail. However, performance is diminished or degraded, and this will continue until the faulty component or hardware is replaced.

 

5. Without fault tolerance, things will come crashing down.

Systems fail, and hardware components get broken. When these things happen, you need to have a fault tolerant system to keep vital networks running. There is simply no more room for downtime in today’s businesses, especially if you are providing online services or goods.

 

Given these reasons, a CEO should make it a point to include a fault tolerant system in corporate plans. Not doing so would be considered negligent and could be detrimental to sales and the company’s overall performance.