In article ,
Craig Welch wrote:
> JA_MORAN wrote:
>
> > It was reported that this past weekend (8-10-2007 to 8-12-2007), the US
> > Customs computers at LAX ( Los Angeles International Airport) failed and
> > as many as 20,000 passengers were stranded on aircraft or in the
> > terminals because Customs relies on the computer system to clear
> > travelers arriving in the USA from international destinations.
>
> > I am a systems engineer and design things so there is not a single point
> > of failure, there are multiple network connections, multiple switches or
> > routers, and also multiple servers in a cluster or load balanced
> > arangement.
>
> Let me understand this. No system you have ever worked on has failed?
>
> > had this involved your local bank, you would be first in line to move
> > your money elsewhere. Systems at your local bank are designed so such a
> > failure is not likely to cripple the entire system.
>
> The key phrase you've just used is 'not likely'. That doesn't mean that
> banks, airlines, etc. can't have failures.
Anyone who says a bank or other private corporation never has a computer
systems failure is either lying or stupid. I work in IT. Computer
failures are not uncommon and how a company recovers from a computer
failure depends on a variety of factors, with risk assessment and budget
being at the top of the list of priorities. |