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Soft Failure vs. Hard Failure

publish date: 1969/12/31 00:00:00 UTC

volume_mute

A medical record system is stress tested by generating 10 times its normal transaction load. In one test, the system slows dramatically but continues processing and recovers when load is reduced. In another test, the system crashes and all in-progress transactions are permanently lost. Classify each failure type.

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Correct Answer

(1) System slows but continues processing; recovers when load is reduced,Soft (graceful) failure
(2) System crashes and all in-progress transactions are permanently lost,Hard (catastrophic) failure

Explanation

Soft (graceful) failure means the system degrades in performance but continues operating and can recover - acceptable in most systems. Hard (catastrophic) failure involves data loss, corruption, or requiring manual intervention to recover - unacceptable in systems managing critical data. Stress testing reveals which type of failure a system exhibits when overloaded.

Reference

Software Engineering, Ian Sommerville, 10th edition

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