3.3.8 Discuss the reliability of the system including the implications of
failure.
Teaching Note:
The need for, and use of, backing-up strategies, mirrored systems
and the utilities in 3.7.
JSR Notes:
Here's an assessment statement that lends itself very well indeed to the Case Study. So given a the explanation of a certain system in the case study (a banking system, a cafeteria check-out systems, a grading systems, whatever...), why is it that it needs to be reliable; what are the implications if there are problems, or if it fails.
In the text there's a bit of overlap with the Errors section - and various ways that failure can occur are mentioned - but here you should be more concerned with the "implications" part, rather than the "reasons/errors" part. In fact, you might like to include a re-visit to these pages when you look over 3.6 Errors.
You need to be able to give examples of what can happen if a particular system fails. And don't just think here of hospital life support systems and air traffic control systems. All computer systems are used and relied upon for a variety of reasons, and all will have some ill effect if/when they fail, according to how completely they do fail.
Do note here, in the teaching note, that backup and mirrored systems are mentioned. A backup is just another copy of data/applications. The great thing about a mirrored system of backup is that it is "live"; whenever any of the data is altered, the backup copy is altered immediately. So with a mirrored system, nothing will be lost upon the failure of the original device.