Fault isolation
Fault isolation is the containment of a component failure so that it does not propagate to unrelated system components or users.
Akka in Action, Second Edition
Fault isolation is the containment of a component failure so that the failed component can be terminated without necessarily stopping unrelated components.
- How it is used
- Applies supervision to contain actor failures while preserving unrelated message-processing components.
- How deep it goes
- Contrasts direct object graphs and exception propagation with actor termination, replacement, restart, and mailbox suspension.
- Examples
- Uses a FileWatcher, LogProcessor, Writer, database connection, corrupted files, and unparseable lines.
- What you can do after
- Operate/configure actor supervision to terminate, restart, or replace failed actors without disrupting unrelated actors.
Read how Akka in Action, Second Edition explains fault isolation →
Bootstrapping Microservices, Second Edition: With Docker, Kubernetes, GitHub Actions, and Terraform
Fault isolation is the containment of a failure within one component so that it has minimal effect on other components or users.
- How it is used
- Contains microservice failures so users retain unrelated application functions during partial outages.
- How deep it goes
- Explains containment through timeouts, retries, circuit breakers, and bulkheads, with implementation examples for timeouts and retries.
- Examples
- Uses a failed video-upload service, Dropbox requests, Axios configuration, and a bounded JavaScript retry function.
- What you can do after
- Operate/configure microservice requests with bounded timeouts, retries, and user-visible degraded behavior.
Related concepts
- microservice architectureaddressed by · Microservice architecture is a software architectural style that organizes an application as independently deployable services with focused responsibilities that communicate through defined interfaces.
- monolithic architecturecontrasts with · Monolithic architecture is a software architecture in which an application's major functionality is organized and deployed as a single integrated unit.
- hierarchyused by · A hierarchy is an organization of entities into nested or ordered levels connected by parent-child, containment, or broader-to-narrower relationships.
- API gatewayimplemented by · An API gateway is an intermediary that provides an entry point for client requests to backend APIs or services and routes or otherwise mediates those requests.
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