A protocol for timed atomic commitment

A model and correctness criteria for timed atomic commitment (TAC) are presented which require the processes to be functionally consistent, but allow the outcome to include an exceptional state, indicating that timing constraints have been violated. Correct TAC behavior is defined by presenting an abstract description of the processes involved in the commitment and minimal correctness criteria for their behavior. The correctness criteria capture the intuitive notion that an exception outcome should only occur in the presence of faults, and an aborted outcome should only occur if faults occur or some process votes no. A centralized two-phase commit protocol was modified to meet the correctness criteria by introducing deadlines on the various stages the participants go through (voting and performing), and on the decision phase for the coordinator. The deadlines are derived using several system parameters: maximum message delay, clock drift, and execution time. The protocol is then shown to be correct.<>