Where does storm collide?

In networking, a broadcast storm is a runaway condition in which broadcast or flooded frames are endlessly re-forwarded (typically because a switching loop has no way to stop them), so traffic multiplies until it saturates links and collapses the network. Perlman's Interconnections explains why loops cause this and how the spanning-tree protocol prevents it by pruning the topology to a loop-free tree. The referent is a self-amplifying flood of traffic that overwhelms a network, unrelated to weather or immune response beyond the shared image of an overwhelming surge.[1]

Unit

A self-amplifying flood of broadcast traffic on a network segment

Recovery means

The storm stops when the forwarding loop is broken, e.g., by spanning tree or storm-control limits

Measured by

Detected by broadcast traffic rates spiking toward link saturation and by collapsing throughput

In meteorology a storm is an organized disturbance of the atmosphere marked by strong winds, heavy precipitation, and often lightning, arising from convective instability and the lifting of moist air. Markowski and Richardson's Mesoscale meteorology in midlatitudes treats the dynamics of thunderstorms and their severe forms, from single cells to rotating supercells. The referent is a weather system defined by its convective structure and energetics, a physical atmospheric phenomenon with no link to network traffic or cytokines beyond the common word for turbulence.[2]

Unit

An organized convective weather system and its intensity

Recovery means

Not applicable

Measured by

Characterized by wind speed, rainfall rate, radar reflectivity, and convective structure

In immunology a cytokine storm is a dysregulated, self-amplifying release of pro-inflammatory cytokines in which immune signaling feeds back on itself and drives tissue damage out of proportion to the original trigger. Tisoncik and colleagues' 2012 review characterizes this hyperinflammatory state and its role in severe infection. The referent is a runaway positive-feedback cascade in immune signaling, sharing with a broadcast storm only the structure of uncontrolled amplification and with a weather storm only the name.[3]

Unit

A dysregulated self-amplifying surge of inflammatory cytokines

Recovery means

Resolves when the feedback is interrupted, e.g., by immunomodulatory therapy and control of the trigger

Measured by

Assessed by circulating cytokine levels and markers of systemic inflammation and organ injury