Scheduling Real-Time Applications on Edge Computing Platforms with Remote Attestation for Security

Abstract

Edge Computing Platforms (ECP) increasingly integrate applications with mixed-criticality requirements. In this paper, we consider that critical applications and Edge applications share an ECP. Critical applications are implemented as periodic hard real-time tasks and messages and have stringent timing and security requirements. Edge applications are implemented as aperiodic tasks and messages, and are not critical. We assume that the critical tasks are scheduled using static cyclic scheduling, Time-Sensitive Networking (TSN) is used for dependable communication, and Remote Attestation (RA) is employed to check that the platform components are secure. We formulate an optimization problem for the joint scheduling of critical and Edge applications, such that (i) the deadlines of the critical applications are guaranteed at design-time, (ii) the platform has resources to perform RA, and (iii) we can successfully accommodate multiple dynamic responsive Edge applications at runtime. We evaluate our approach on a realistic use case. The results show that our approach generates dependable schedules that can meet the timing constraints of the critical applications, have enough periodic slack to perform RA for security, and can accommodate Edge applications with a shorter response time.