Basically, in a client-server relationship, use persistent buffering on the client-side so that the client can tolerate server downtime. I like the simplicity

Basically, in a client-server relationship, use persistent buffering on the client-side so that the client can tolerate server downtime. I like the simplicity of this approach. It's best to keep the low-level stuff as simple as possible when building distributed systems. It will get complicated soon enough at the higher levels.