Fault-tolerant computer system with stepwise negotiating voting

Abstract

In the conventional fault-tolerant system, it is difficult to satisfy both requirements of long system life and safety. This paper proposes a method in which the output data from subsystems is selected based on the reliabilities of the data processings in the redundant subsystems, which are estimated by the self- and mutual checks of each subsystem. By the proposed method, a new fault-tolerant system can be realized. This system contains both the long life, as a feature of the stand-by redundant method, and a highly reliable data processing, as a feature of the majority redundant method. It is expected that the proposed method will be applied to the satellite computer. In the proposed method, the trade-off between the life and the reliability of the data processing can easily be achieved according to the purpose of application, by adequately defining the required level for the reliability. The method can cope with any multiplicity, making it applicable to various problems.