Reliability

If users are going to depend on computers in the same way that they depend on phones, computers must work reliably each and every time. With so much public attention on the security pillar, reliability appears to have taken a back seat. But as Microsoft improves its efforts in one pillar of Trustworthy Computing, any weakness in the other pillars will quickly become apparent.

Although Microsoft names this pillar reliability, it may be more useful to consider the following “abilities” separately. To be truly reliable, computers must be:

• Dependable (operating consistently)
• Scalable (able to adjust to increasing workloads over time)
• Available (working when people need them over long periods of time).

(For more on these attributes, see the sidebar “Defining Reliability“.)

What Is Microsoft Doing?

Microsoft is working to define reliability consistently across all product groups and is using its RD3+C framework to ensure products are reliable by design, reliable by default, and reliable by deployment.