Pattern 76 / RESILIENCE

Brownout

Use this when Reducing optional work before the whole service fails.

Pressure: Reducing optional work before the whole service fails
Mechanism: Disable non-critical features dynamically to preserve the critical path
Toll: Requires knowing which work is optional and testing degraded paths

Diagram for Brownout — Architecture plate76

Executive brief

Brownout fits when Reducing optional work before the whole service fails. Mechanism: Disable non-critical features dynamically to preserve the critical path. Use it for Recommendation widgets, previews, personalization, analytics writes. The toll: Requires knowing which work is optional and testing degraded paths.

Use when

Recommendation widgets, previews, personalization, analytics writes.

Example

Use brownout when recommendation widgets, previews, personalization, analytics writes..

Review framing

Describe the pressure first, then the mechanism, then the cost. That keeps the design grounded.

Same pressure family

Reliability

75Load Shedding 77Fail-Fast