  Computing systems are becoming more and more complex and assuming more and
more responsibilities in all sectors of human activity. Applications do not run
locally on a single computer any more. A lot of today's applications are built
as distributed system; with services on different computers communicating with
each other. Distributed systems arise everywhere. The Internet is one of the
best-known distributed systems and used by nearly everyone today. It is obvious
that we are more and more dependent on computer services. Many people expect to
be able to buy things like clothing or electronic equipment even at night on
the Internet. Computers are expected to be operational and available 7 days a
week, 24 hours a day. Downtime, even for maintenance, is no longer acceptable.

Software Engineering