broadcast storm

Broadcast radiation is the accumulation of broadcast and multicast traffic on a computer network.The final stage of a broadcast radiation is called a broadcast storm and it is a state where new network connections cannot be established, and existing connections may be dropped, as the condition is now self-sustaining and magnifying.Especially within a large broadcast domain a number of causes can generate a chain reaction culminating with the broadcast storm having a severe negative impact on network latency.
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<networking> A broadcast on a network that causes multiple hosts to respond by broadcasting themselves, causing the storm to grow exponentially in severity.
See network meltdown.
[Jargon File]
(1995-02-07)