Design and implementation of a data stabilizing software tool

Abstract

We describe a software tool which implements a software system for stabilizing data values, capable of tolerating both permanent faults in memory and transient faults affecting computation, input and memory devices by means of a strategy coupling temporal and spatial redundancy. The tool maximizes data integrity allowing a new value to enter the system only after a user-parameterizable stabilization procedure has been successfully passed. Designed and developed in the framework of the ESPRIT project TIRAN, the tool can be used stand-alone but can also be coupled with other dependable mechanisms developed within that project. Its use is being currently investigated within ENEL, the main Italian electricity supplier in order to replace a hardware stable storage device adopted in their high-voltage sub-stations.