Fallacies of Distributed Computing
Version 1.0.0 · Updated 2026-07-30
CORE DEFINITION
Eight false assumptions proposed by L. Peter Deutsch, including: the network is reliable, latency is zero, bandwidth is infinite, the network is secure, and topology doesn't change. Novices often design systems based on these assumptions, leading to disasters.
SCAFFOLDING EFFECT
Reduce cognitive load
Identify idealized assumptions. When managing multinational teams or large organizations, managers often make the same mistakes: assuming zero latency in communication, assuming all people have synchronized information, and assuming instructions are transmitted without distortion. Redundancy must be designed based on the premise that the network is unreliable.
Anchor fast decisions
Eight (later expanded) false assumptions about networks summarized by L. Peter Deutsch et al.: reliability, zero latency, infinite bandwidth, security, invariant topology, single administrator, zero transport cost, and homogeneous network. The mechanism is: each assumption holds in a local development environment but breaks in a real wide-area network, leading to timeouts, split-brain, and data corruption.
MINIMUM ACTION
In progress 0/4Practice this model in one real situation:
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Source support: Explicit
- en.wikipedia.orghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fallacies_of_distributed_computingverified
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