Cascading failure
Cascading failure
A cascading failure is a failure in a system of interconnected parts in which the failure of a part can trigger the failure of successive parts. Such a failure may happen in many types of systems, including power transmission, computer networking, finance, human bodily systems, and bridges.
Cascading failures usually begin when one part of the system fails. When this happens, nearby nodes must then take up the slack for the failed component. This in turn overloads these nodes, causing them to fail as well, prompting additional nodes to fail one after another in a vicious circle.
