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Performance and economy of a fault-tolerant multiprocessorThe FTMP (Fault-Tolerant Multiprocessor) is one of two central aircraft fault-tolerant architectures now in the prototype phase under NASA sponsorship. The intended application of the computer includes such critical real-time tasks as 'fly-by-wire' active control and completely automatic Category III landings of commercial aircraft. The FTMP architecture is briefly described and it is shown that it is a viable solution to the multi-faceted problems of safety, speed, and cost. Three job dispatch strategies are described, and their results with respect to job-starting delay are presented. The first strategy is a simple First-Come-First-Serve (FCFS) job dispatch executive. The other two schedulers are an adaptive FCFS and an interrupt driven scheduler. Three failure modes are discussed, and the FTMP survival probability in the face of random hard failures is evaluated. It is noted that the hourly cost of operating two FTMPs in a transport aircraft can be as little as one-to-two percent of the total flight-hour cost of the aircraft.
Document ID
19790056270
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Conference Proceedings
Authors
Lala, J. H.
(Draper (Charles Stark) Lab., Inc. Cambridge, MA, United States)
Smith, C. J.
(Charles Stark Draper Laboratory, Inc. Cambridge, Mass., United States)
Date Acquired
August 9, 2013
Publication Date
January 1, 1979
Subject Category
Computer Operations And Hardware
Meeting Information
Meeting: National Computer Conference
Location: New York, NY
Start Date: June 4, 1979
End Date: June 7, 1979
Accession Number
79A40283
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: NAS1-13782
CONTRACT_GRANT: NSF DCR-74-24116
CONTRACT_GRANT: NSF GJ-36255
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other

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