Latest Issue : July 2024
Avoiding Catastrophic Failure
By Peter Aggus
A surprising number of systems are vulnerable to “unexpected” failure modes. Their datacentre cooling fails during a heatwave. Their phone system overloads with unexpected results. The Baltimore bridge collapsed due to “grandfathering” rules. Here’s our take on predicting the “unpredictable” and avoiding disaster.
Office Evacuation: What To Bring?
By Guy Robertson
Your office fire alarm sounds. You must leave as soon as possible, but what should you carry with you as you exit? The answer is to bring as little as possible --only what you'll need for personal safety and security. Here’s the do’s and don’ts.
Power Outlet Danger
By Ellen Koskinen-Dodgson
We tend to use electrical power without much thought. Unless there’s a power outage it’s easy to ignore. Have you ever given any thought to the danger posed by incorrect usage of electrical power in your office? And would you be surprised that “normal” electrical wiring can cause a fire? Why does this happen?
Soft-Fail Designs
By Kristin Kiewitz
Are your systems vulnerable to failure modes you have not considered? Will your datacentre cooling protect your servers during a heatwave? Can your phone system or data network cope with a traffic overload? In short – do you design for “soft failure” or do you cross your fingers and hope that you’ll never face an “unexpected” disaster? Here are some examples of how to design in soft failure modes.