A framework backbone for software fault tolerance in embedded parallel applications

Abstract

The DIR net (detection-isolation-recovery net) is the main module of a software framework for the development of embedded supercomputing applications. This framework provides a set of functional elements, collected in a library, to improve the dependability attributes of the applications (especially the availability). The DIR net enables these functional elements to cooperate and enhances their efficiency by controlling and co-ordinating them. As a supervisor and the main executor of the fault tolerance strategy, it is the backbone of the framework, of which the application developer is the architect. Moreover, it provides an interface to which all detection and recovery tools should conform. Although the DIR net is meant to be used together within this fault tolerance framework, the adopted concepts and design decisions have a more general value, and can be applied in a wide range of parallel systems.