But thanks to my own cluelessness, I've blown up smaller distributed systems, and I've learned one important lesson: Almost nobody is smart enough to understand

But thanks to my own cluelessness, I've blown up smaller distributed systems, and I've learned one important lesson: Almost nobody is smart enough to understand automatic error-recovery code. Features like automated volume remirroring or multi-AZ failover increase the load on an already stressed system, and they often cause this kind of "storm." It's basically Test-Driven Development: if you cannot test it, don't write it.