What is a key aspect of a fault tolerant system?

A key aspect of a fault-tolerant system is the avoidance of single points of failure. This principle ensures that if one component of the system fails, there is an alternative component or pathway that maintains the system's overall functionality. By designing systems in this way, organizations can minimize downtime and enhance reliability. For instance, in a server environment, if one server goes down, another server can take over its load without any interruption, allowing operations to continue seamlessly.

In contrast, options involving costly hardware, minimal redundancy, or dependence on manual backups do not inherently contribute to the resilience and reliability that fault tolerance aims to provide. Costly hardware may not always correlate to fault tolerance, as affordability does not guarantee redundancy or reliability. Minimal redundancy contradicts the concept of fault tolerance, as it increases the risk of having a single point of failure. Finally, a system that relies on manual backups does not provide real-time resilience; automatic failover mechanisms are essential for a robust fault-tolerant design.