Title :
Dependable onboard computer systems with a new method-stepwise negotiating voting
Author :
Kanekawa, N. ; Maejima, H. ; Kato, H. ; Ihara, H.
Author_Institution :
Hitachi Ltd., Ibaraki, Japan
Abstract :
An algorithm for software voting, called stepwise negotiating voting, which can tolerate the faults in up to N-1 subsystems is introduced. The voter behaves as if it were a majority voter if the number of remaining subsystems is sufficient for majority voting, and standby redundancy is realized if the number of remaining subsystems becomes insufficient. With this voting method, the system can survive if more than one subsystem remains. The authors introduce a method for evaluating the dependability of systems. It is based on the viewpoint that not only the hardware reliability but also the reliability of data processing is important. It is assumed that only transient faults take place in the software behavior. The author´s concept can be applied to computers in critical application fields, such as space development or engine control.<>
Keywords :
fault tolerant computing; redundancy; software reliability; dependability; hardware reliability; majority voter; onboard computer systems; software behavior; software voting; standby redundancy; stepwise negotiating voting; transient faults; Application software; Computer applications; Data processing; Fault tolerance; Fault tolerant systems; Hardware; Redundancy; Space shuttles; Space vehicles; Voting;
Conference_Titel :
Fault-Tolerant Computing, 1989. FTCS-19. Digest of Papers., Nineteenth International Symposium on
Conference_Location :
Chicago, IL, USA
Print_ISBN :
0-8186-1959-7
DOI :
10.1109/FTCS.1989.105536