Threshold-based mechanisms to discriminate transient from intermittent faults

Abstract

This paper presents a class of count-and-threshold mechanisms, collectively named /spl alpha/-count, which are able to discriminate between transient faults and intermittent faults in computing systems. For many years, commercial systems have been using transient fault discrimination via threshold-based techniques. We aim to contribute to the utility of count-and-threshold schemes, by exploring their effects on the system. We adopt a mathematically defined structure, which is simple enough to analyze by standard tools. /spl alpha/-count is equipped with internal parameters that can be tuned to suit environmental variables (such as transient fault rate, intermittent fault occurrence patterns). We carried out an extensive behavior analysis for two versions of the count-and-threshold scheme, assuming, first, exponentially distributed fault occurrencies and, then, more realistic fault patterns.