Depth-first search approach for fault-tolerant routing in hypercube multicomputers

Using depth-first search, the authors develop and analyze the performance of a routing scheme for hypercube multicomputers in the presence of an arbitrary number of faulty components. They derive an exact expression for the probability of routing messages by way of optimal paths (of length equal to the Hamming distance between the corresponding pair of nodes) from the source node to an obstructed node. The obstructed node is defined as the first node encountered by the message that finds no optimal path to the destination node. It is noted that the probability of routing messages over an optimal path between any two nodes is a special case of the present results and can be obtained by replacing the obstructed node with the destination node. Numerical examples are given to illustrate the results, and they show that, in the presence of component failures, depth-first search routing can route a message to its destination by means of an optimal path with a very high probability.