Abstract
Computer control of discrete applications present a challenging dependability problem since any wrong output may lead the system to a completely anomalous state. This is in contrast with continuous feedback systems where wrong outputs can only gradually deviate the system under control from its intended set point. Transient errors may even be filtered by the latency inherent to the physical application. In this paper we extend our previous experimental research on the use of the fail-bounded model in continuous feedback systems into discrete control applications in order to evaluate whether it could be applied to this kind of problems. The reset-driven approach was used as the basic error detection and recovery mechanism complemented by assertions based on the Petri Net modeling of the problem, thus taking advantage of the discrete nature of the applications. The well-known semaphore control problem is used as testbed for experimental evaluation by fault-injection in the controller. The main contribution of this paper is to present experimental data showing that effectively the fail-bounded model can be applied to discrete applications whenever a continuous physical system exists in the control loop.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsPreview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Zuberek, W.M.: Timed Petri nets and preliminary performance evaluation. In: 7th Annual Symposium on Computer Architecture, pp. 88–96. ACM Press, New York (1980)
Powell, D., Verísimo, P., Bonn, G., Waeselynck, F., Seaton, D.: The Delta-4 Approach to Dependability in Open Distributed Computing Systems. In: 18th Fault-Tolerant Computer Symposium, pp. 246–251. IEEE Press, New York (1988)
Avizienis, A.: Building Dependable Systems: How to Keep Up with Complexity. In: 25th Fault-Tolerant Computer Symposium, pp. 4–14. IEEE Press, New York (1995)
Somani, A.K., Vaidya, N.H.: Understanding Fault Tolerance and Reliability. IEEE Computer 30(4), 45–50 (1997)
Cunha, J.C., Maia, R., Rela, M.Z., Silva, J.G.: A Study on Failure Models in Feedback Control Systems. In: International Conference on Dependable Systems and Networks, pp. 314–323. IEEE Press, New York (2001)
Vinter, J., Aidemark, J., Folkesson, P., Karlsson, J.: Reducing Critical Failures for Control Algorithms Using Executable Assertions and Best Effort Recovery. In: International Conference on Dependable Systems and Networks, pp. 347–356. IEEE Press, New York (2001)
Kirrman, H.D.: Fault Tolerance in Process Control: An overview and examples of European Products. IEEE Micro 7(5), 27–50 (1987)
Silva, J.G., Prata, P., Rela, M.Z., Madeira, H.: Practical Issues in the Use of ABFT and a New Failure Model. In: 28th Fault-Tolerant Computer Symposium, pp. 26–35. IEEE Press, New York (1998)
Prata, P., Rela, M.Z., Madeira, H., Silva, J.G.: Robust Assertions and Fail-Bounded Behavior. Journal of the Brazilian Computer Society 3(10), 20–32 (2005)
Cunha, J.C., Rela, M.Z., Silva, J.G.: Can Software-Implemented Fault-Injection be used on Real-Time Systems? In: Hlavicka, J., Maehle, E., Pataricza, A. (eds.) EDCC 1999. LNCS, vol. 1667, pp. 209–221. Springer, Heidelberg (1999)
Carreira, J., Madeira, H., Silva, J.G.: Xception: A Technique for the Experimental Evaluation of Dependability in Modern Computers. IEEE Trans. on Software Engineering 24(2), 125–135 (1998)
Madeira, H., Silva, J.G.: Experimental evaluation of the fail-silent behavior in computers without error masking. In: 24th Fault-Tolerant Computer Symposium, pp. 350–359. IEEE Press, New York (1994)
Cunha, J.C., Correia, A., Henriques, J., Rela, M.Z.: Reset-Driven Fault Tolerance. In: Bondavalli, A., Thévenod-Fosse, P. (eds.) EDCC 2002. LNCS, vol. 2485, pp. 102–120. Springer, Heidelberg (2002)
Libet, B.: Unconscious cerebral initiative and the role of conscious will in voluntary action. Behavioral and brain sciences 8(4), 529–566 (1985)
ITS National Architecture, Federal Highway Administration, Technical report, US Department of Transportation (1998)
SMX® Simple Multitasking Executive. http://www.smxinfo.com
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2007 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
About this paper
Cite this paper
Muranho, J., Prata, P., Zenha-Rela, M., Silva, J.G. (2007). Failure Boundedness in Discrete Applications. In: Bondavalli, A., Brasileiro, F., Rajsbaum, S. (eds) Dependable Computing. LADC 2007. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 4746. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-75294-3_12
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-75294-3_12
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-540-75293-6
Online ISBN: 978-3-540-75294-3
eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)