Network meltdown

<networking> (By analogy with catastrophic failure of a nuclear reactor) An event that causes saturation, or near saturation, of a network.

Network meltdown usually results from illegal or misrouted packets (see Chernobyl packet) and typically lasts only a short time.

It may also be caused by a hardware fault.

It is the network equivalent of thrashing.

[Jargon File]

< Previous Terms	Terms Containing network meltdown	Next Terms >
network interface card network interface controller network layer network layer reachability information network management	Automated Retroactive Minimal Moderation broadcast storm Chernobyl packet Ethernet meltdown meltdown	Network News Transfer Protocol Network Node Interface network number Network Operating System network operating system