Mean time between failures is the average time between catastrophic system failures in a computer system. It is calculated by operating and repairing the system. The average is an arithmetic mean of a large number of similar systems. The term failure refers to a total system shutdown, not a single part failure or planned downtime. It is used as an early warning sign for hardware problems and helps maintenance personnel prioritize their work. Other similar terms include mean time to failure and mean time between critical failures.
Mean time between failures is a measure of the average amount of time between catastrophic system failures in a computer system. To calculate mean time between failures, a system must operate and then fail. The system is then repaired and put back into operation, where it will eventually fail again. The time between these failures is the first value in the averaging time: as the system accumulates more failures, the averaging time becomes more accurate.
There are two basic terms that make up this concept: mean time and failure. The type of mean referred to is an arithmetic mean, better known as an average. As with all averages, the more numbers used to calculate the average, the more accurate the final result. Since computer systems don’t fail constantly, the average time is usually an average of a large number of different systems that are all used and built in a similar way.
The other big part of the term is bankruptcy. In computing terms, there are many different kinds of errors. In this case, the error is a total system shutdown. The system has failed beyond its ability to continue operating and must be repaired before it can be returned to service. If a single part of the computer fails, such as a single memory stick, it is not counted as a failure in calculating the mean time between failures. Also, planned downtime such as maintenance is not a deal breaker.
These values are often used as an early warning sign of undiagnosed hardware problems. If the mean time between failures of a system is very low then there is obviously a problem in the system somewhere. Computer designers also look into what caused the error in addition to the duration. This provides a clearer indication of where the problem might exist and what needs to happen to fix it.
Maintenance personnel use the mean time between failures to design their system maintenance program. If one system is pushing its average time while another is months away, it makes it easier to determine which system to work on first. A full overhaul and checkup won’t technically reset a system’s average time, but it should create longer intervals between failures, effectively pushing the average time higher.
The Mean Time Between Failure value is just one of many values used in the computer and manufacturing industries to indicate system failures. Other common terms include mean time to failure, time to catastrophic failure the first time, and mean time between critical failures for errors that are important but do not take the system offline. There’s also the mean time between unit replacement, which measures the average time before one system needs to be replaced by another.
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