

The Byzantine Generals Problem - explained, and with code. - RiderOfGiraffes
http://marknelson.us/2007/07/23/byzantine/

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RiderOfGiraffes
Related: <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two_Generals%27_Problem>

It might be worth reading that first to get into the right frame of mind.

For reference, I've had to code solutions for both of these problems for real
in safety-critical situations. Interesting challenge.

ADDED IN EDIT:

The paper with the original solution:

[http://delivery.acm.org/10.1145/360000/357176/p382-lamport.p...](http://delivery.acm.org/10.1145/360000/357176/p382-lamport.pdf?key1=357176&key2=8126308921&coll=DL&dl=ACM&ip=192.168.2.38&CFID=10522886&CFTOKEN=86594853)

ADDED IN EDIT (2)

Amazon's S3 service suffered a failure of this type:

<http://status.aws.amazon.com/s3-20080720.html>

