Reliability evaluation subject to assured accuracy rate and time for stochastic unreliable-node computer networks

Abstract

In many real-life networks such as computer networks, branches and nodes have multi-state capacity, lead time, and accuracy rate. The network with unreliable nodes is more complex to evaluate the reliability because node failure results in the disabled of adjacent branches. Such a network is named a stochastic unreliable-node computer network (SUNCN). Under the strict assumption that each component (branch and node) has a deterministic capacity, the quickest path (QP) problem is to find a path sending a specific amount of data with minimum transmission time. The accuracy rate is a critical index to measure the performance of a computer network because some packets are damaged or lost due to voltage instability, magnetic field effects, lightning, etc. Subject to both assured accuracy rate and time constraints, this paper extends the QP problem to discuss the system reliability of an SUNCN. An efficient algorithm based on a graphic technique is proposed to find the minimal capacity vector meeting such constraints. System reliability, the probability to send a specific amount of data through multiple minimal paths subject to both assured accuracy rate and time constraints, can subsequently be computed.