Engineering AI Systems: Architecture and DevOps Essentials

7

Reliability

I am a man of my word . . . and that word is “unreliable.”

—Demetri Martin

RELIABILITY REFERS TO the consistent and accurate performance of a system over time, under various conditions, and without failure. It encompasses the system’s ability to produce correct and trustworthy outputs, even when faced with unexpected inputs or changes in its environment.

7.1 Fundamental Concepts

Different facets of the definition of reliability are worth emphasizing. In this section, we identify “specified operating conditions,” “despite unexpected inputs,” and “changes in the environment.” We also define “fault, error, and failure” as a means for framing the discussion.

7.1.1 Under Specified Operating Conditions

In the traditional sense, reliability ...