In this paper, we report our ongoing investigations of the inherent non-determinism in contemporary execution environments that can potentially lead to divergence in state of a multi-channel hardware software system. Our approach involved setting up of experiments to study execution path variability of a simple program by tracing its execution at the kernel level. In the first of the two experiments, we analyzed the execution path by repeated execution of the program. In the second, we executed in parallel two instances of the same program, each pinned to a separate processor core. Our results show that for a program executing in a contemporary hardware software platform , there is sufcient path non-determinism in kernel space that can potentially lead to diversity in replicated architectures. We believe the execution non-determinism can impact the activation of residual systematic faults in software. If this is true, then the inherent diversity can be used together with architectural means to protect safety related systems against residual systematic faults in the operating systems.
Related to our work on the basis of using non-deterministic property of systems for protection against faults, is the INDEXYS project @cite_13 , whose stated objective is to investigate how intrinsic diversity of complex operating systems helps in detecting faults in computing platforms. They project proposers state their intension of employing architectural protection schemes to mask and or detect random faults through temporal relaxation. We are, however, not aware of the current state of the project.
@cite_13
1543608709
Embedded computing systems have become a pervasive aspect in virtually all application domains, such as industrial, mobile communication, transportation and medical. Due to increasing computational capabilities of microcomputers and their decreasing cost, new functionality has been enabled (e.g., driver assistance systems) and cost savings have become possible, e.g., by the replacement of mechanical components by embedded computers. Conventionally, each application domain tends to develop customized solutions, often re-inventing concepts that are already applied in other domains. It is therefore expedient to invest into a generic embedded system architecture that supports the development of dependable embedded applications in many different application domains, using the same hardware devices and software modules. INDEXYS targets to pave the way from the European Commission Framework 7 GENESYS Project reference computing architecture approach towards pilot applications in the automotive-, railway- and aerospace industrial domains. INDEXYS will follow-up GENESYS project results and will implement selected industrial-grade services of GENESYS architectural concepts. The results of laying together GENESYS, INDEXYS and the new ARTEMIS project ACROSS, which will develop multi processor systems on a chip (MPSoC) using GENESYS reference architecture and services, will provide integral cross-domain architecture and platform, design- and verification- tools, middleware and flexible FPGA- or chip- based devices lowering OEM cost of development and production at faster time-to market.n of COOPERS.