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Cloud Computing · Foundational

Single Point of Failure (SPOF)

Component whose failure stops the entire system because no redundant alternative exists.

Definition

Common SPOFs in cloud designs include a single instance, a single NAT gateway, one database without replicas, one VPN tunnel or a single region. Eliminating SPOFs through redundancy across availability zones and regions is the foundation of high availability.

Example

A single EC2 instance hosting both web and database tiers is a SPOF; splitting tiers across AZs removes it.

Exam tip

When asked to improve availability, look for and remove the single point of failure first.

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