A system reset might be easier to overlook than other errors. When we test our gear, something like a 2 dB loss (out of 30 dB initial transmit power) anywhere

A system reset might be easier to overlook than other errors. When we test our gear, something like a 2 dB loss (out of 30 dB initial transmit power) anywhere within our operating range (-40 degrees to +85 degrees) would likely result in another board spin (and a 15-20 day delay in the that particular product), but, a NIC reset during a 72 hour soak (where we cycle the temperature up and down multiple times), isn't something we would get stressed over. That's the entire idea behind having a watchdog - if something looks amiss, start clean. It may have also been the case in the Pathfinder era that a "Reset" was acceptable behavior. Also - depending on the nature of the watchdog reset - they may not have been able to capture a core dump - in which case, if there only a few resets - really hard to track down on a tight schedule.