Reliable Message Delivery

There are three general classes of failure.

1. Bit Error (very rare)
   • bits in the packet are flipped
   • Sometimes single bits are corrupted, but more often than not a burst error occurs—several consecutive bits are corrupted.
   • Bit errors typically occur because outside forces, such as lightning strikes, power surges, and microwave ovens, interfere with the transmission of data
2. Packet Loss
3. At the node and Link Level:
   • caused by software that crashes, a power failure, or a reckless backhoe operator. Failures due to misconfiguration of a network device are also common.

Principles of Reliable Data Transfer

Notes taken from ECE358 textbook.