A fault-list generation algorithm for the evaluation of system coverage

Abstract

The expanding size and complexity of dependable computing systems has increased their cost and at the same time complicated the process of estimating dependability attributes such as fault coverage and detection latency. One approach to estimating such parameters is to employ fault injection, however algorithms are needed to generate a list of faults to inject. Unlike randomly selected faults, a fault list is needed which guarantees to cause either system failure or the activation of mechanisms which cover the injected fault. This research effort has developed an automated technique for selecting faults to use during fault injection experiments. The technique is general in nature and can be applied to any computing platform. The primary objective of this research effort was the development and implementation of the algorithms to generate a fault set which exercises the fault detection and fault processing aspects of the system. The end result is a completely automated method for evaluating complex dependable computing systems by estimating fault coverage and fault detection latency.