Boeing 787s must be turned off and on every 51 days (2020)

Re:Boeing 787s must be turned off and on every 51 days (2020) by data_acquired on Tuesday May 11, 2021 @02:24PM (#27121609)

I'm sure this has been asked on HN before, but is there something intrinsic to complex systems and the need for a reset? That is, as a given system gets more complex in design and purpose, is it inevitable that beyond a certain point of complexity, some kind of a power reset is needed to get things to work correctly? Any interesting writings on the subject?

Towards the extreme ends of the spectrum of complexity, humans need sleep. On the other end, my pocket calculator likely doesn't need to be switched off and on to ensure that numbers add correctly. I guess complex operating systems sit closer to humans than a calculator on this "spectrum". I do remember reading that the space shuttle's computer systems were close to perfect in design, but they're not operated as frequently as a 787.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Boeing 787s must be turned off and on every 51 days (2020) by dirkt on Wednesday May 12, 2021 @01:19AM (#27126876)

> is there something intrinsic to complex systems and the need for a reset?

As the number of possible states of the system explodes, and as you layer levels of abstraction onto each other, the probability that you somehow reach a state the designers didn't think about increases. Then you need to reset.

Add to that limited bits for representation of numbers, and people not thinking about what do to when one overflows (because this is really really hard in many cases), and you get to "better reset it every n days" scenario.

> Any interesting writings on the subject?

None that I know of.

[ Parent | on HN ]