What concept describes a system that maintains operations despite system failures?

The concept that describes a system maintaining operations despite system failures is fault tolerance. Fault tolerance is a critical design characteristic in cloud environments and IT infrastructure that ensures a system can continue to operate even when one or more of its components fail. This is achieved through various strategies, such as using redundant components that take over in case of a failure, allowing for immediate recovery without significant downtime or operational interruptions.

In contrast, high availability focuses on ensuring that a system is consistently operational and available to users, often involving redundancy and load balancing, but it may not specifically address the seamless operation during component failures. Redundancy refers to the inclusion of extra components that are not strictly necessary for functionality but are in place to ensure reliability; it is a practice that contributes to fault tolerance. Disaster recovery deals with the processes involved in restoring systems and data after a catastrophic failure or a significant disruption but does not inherently ensure continuous operation during system failures.

Thus, while several concepts relate to maintaining operations, fault tolerance specifically encapsulates the ability to withstand failures while continuing to function effectively.