Single point of failure

[1] The term single point of failure implies that there is not a backup or redundant option that would enable the system to continue to function without it.

The owner of the tree care company may have spare parts ready for the repair of the wood chipper, in case it fails.

Finally, at the highest level, they may have enough equipment available to completely replace everything at the work site in the case of multiple failures.

[4] Paul Baran and Donald Davies developed packet switching, a key part of "survivable communications networks".

In software engineering, a bottleneck occurs when the capacity of an application or a computer system is limited by a single component.

[4] While companies have developed a number of solutions to this, the most consistent form of SPOFs in complex systems tends to remain user error, either by accidental mishandling by an operator or outside interference through phishing attacks.

Edward Snowden talked of the dangers of being what he described as "the single point of failure" – the sole repository of information.

[9] A component of a life-support system that would constitute a single point of failure would be required to be extremely reliable.