Checking the status of the fax-machine or an elevator is not a high-end administrative task and should not require any knowledge of details at all. To this end Linux offers the ability to communicate with users directly via the console (simply printk'ing errors on a text-console) or a web-interface as well as offering a OS-independent active response via voice, email, SMS or turning on a siren if one connects it to some general output pin of the system. So the resources required for clean status and error reporting are available in Linux and embedded Linux but care must be taken as to what information can be displayed in response to errors as this naturally touches security issues. Error messages need to be clear and status information needs to be informative - "An application error occurred - [OK]" is not very helpful - on the other hand it is not always desirable if error messages include the exact version of the OS/Kernel/application and the TCP port on which it is listening... as this could reveal information that allows attacking such a system.