The editors of this book believe that dependability has become a central issue in all disciplines of systems engineering and software architecture. They state that the methods and tools that help to master the problems encountered in the design process and the management of operations are of high importance for the future of information and communication technology. In light of this, they have put together the results of research that was conducted on dependable information and communication systems (DICS).

The book is organized into four topical sections. The first section covers three surveys on dependable software, dependable systems, and dependable Internet protocol (IP) over fiber networks. The second section contains research on dependable software. The third section contains research on dependable computing. The fourth and last section contains research on dependable networks.

While dependability is an issue shared by the software, computing, and networking communities, it is unlikely that one reader would benefit from the triple focus of the book. The broad range of information technology has divided experts into three distinctive categories. Covering all three areas in one book is a drawback. It gives the book the feeling of a professional journal, though it is not a journal.

Nevertheless, the book contains a valuable collection of papers that identify the major issues of dependability, and present solutions for them. So, various professionals could read a survey on a related field, and then jump into their specific area of interest.