Modeling and Analysis of Fault Tolerant Multistage Interconnection Networks

Performance and reliability are two of the most crucial issues in today\u27s high-performance instrumentation and measurement systems. High speed and compact density multistage interconnection networks (MINs) are widely-used subsystems in different applications. New performance models are proposed to evaluate a novel fault tolerant MIN arrangement, thereby assuring performance and reliability with high confidence level. A concurrent fault detection and recovery scheme for MINs is considered by rerouting over redundant interconnection links under stringent real-time constraints for digital instrumentation as sensor networks. A switch architecture for concurrent testing and diagnosis is proposed. New performance models are developed and used to evaluate the compound effect of fault tolerant operation (inclusive of testing, diagnosis, and recovery) on the overall throughput and delay. Results are shown for single transient and permanent stuck-at faults on links and storage units in the switching elements. It is shown that performance degradation due to fault tolerance is graceful while performance degradation without fault recovery is unacceptable

Evaluation of Two Terminal Reliability of Fault-tolerant Multistage Interconnection Networks

This paper iOntroduces a new method based on multi-decomposition for predicting the two terminal reliability of fault-tolerant multistage interconnection networks. The method is well supported by an efficient algorithm which runs polynomially. The method is well illustrated by taking a network consists of eight nodes and twelve links as an example. The proposed method is found to be simple, general and efficient and thus is as such applicable to all types of fault-tolerant multistage interconnection networks. The results show this method provides a greater accurate probability when applied on fault-tolerant multistage interconnection networks. Reliability of two important MINs are evaluated by using the proposed method

Fault tolerant clos network

Multistage interconnection networks, or MINs, provide paths between functional modules in multiprocessor systems. The MINs are usually segmented into several stages. Each stage connects inputs to appropriate links of the next stage so that the cumulative effect of all the stages satisfies input-output connection requirements. This thesis deals with a fault tolerant Clos network. The fault tolerance technique involves addition of extra switches per stage to compensate for any switch failure The reliability analysis of both ordinary and fault tolerant Clos networks is presented. The optimal number of extra switches required to get the best reliability results has been analyzed

Reconfiguration for Fault Tolerance and Performance Analysis

Architecture reconfiguration, the ability of a system to alter the active interconnection among modules, has a history of different purposes and strategies. Its purposes develop from the relatively simple desire to formalize procedures that all processes have in common to reconfiguration for the improvement of fault-tolerance, to reconfiguration for performance enhancement, either through the simple maximizing of system use or by sophisticated notions of wedding topology to the specific needs of a given process. Strategies range from straightforward redundancy by means of an identical backup system to intricate structures employing multistage interconnection networks. The present discussion surveys the more important contributions to developments in reconfigurable architecture. The strategy here is in a sense to approach the field from an historical perspective, with the goal of developing a more coherent theory of reconfiguration. First, the Turing and von Neumann machines are discussed from the perspective of system reconfiguration, and it is seen that this early important theoretical work contains little that anticipates reconfiguration. Then some early developments in reconfiguration are analyzed, including the work of Estrin and associates on the fixed plus variable restructurable computer system, the attempt to theorize about configurable computers by Miller and Cocke, and the work of Reddi and Feustel on their restructable computer system. The discussion then focuses on the most sustained systems for fault tolerance and performance enhancement that have been proposed. An attempt will be made to define fault tolerance and to investigate some of the strategies used to achieve it. By investigating four different systems, the Tandern computer, the C.vmp system, the Extra Stage Cube, and the Gamma network, the move from dynamic redundancy to reconfiguration is observed. Then reconfiguration for performance enhancement is discussed. A survey of some proposals is attempted, then the discussion focuses on the most sustained systems that have been proposed: PASM, the DC architecture, the Star local network, and the NYU Ultracomputer. The discussion is organized around a comparison of control, scheduling, communication, and network topology. Finally, comparisons are drawn between fault tolerance and performance enhancement, in order to clarify the notion of reconfiguration and to reveal the common ground of fault tolerance and performance enhancement as well as the areas in which they diverge. An attempt is made in the conclusion to derive from this survey and analysis some observations on the nature of reconfiguration, as well as some remarks on necessary further areas of research

Fault-tolerant interconnection networks for multiprocessor systems

Interconnection networks represent the backbone of multiprocessor systems. A failure in the network, therefore, could seriously degrade the system performance. For this reason, fault tolerance has been regarded as a major consideration in interconnection network design. This thesis presents two novel techniques to provide fault tolerance capabilities to three major networks: the Baseline network, the Benes network and the Clos network. First, the Simple Fault Tolerance Technique (SFT) is presented. The SFT technique is in fact the result of merging two widely known interconnection mechanisms: a normal interconnection network and a shared bus. This technique is most suitable for networks with small switches, such as the Baseline network and the Benes network. For the Clos network, whose switches may be large for the SFT, another technique is developed to produce the Fault-Tolerant Clos (FTC) network. In the FTC, one switch is added to each stage. The two techniques are described and thoroughly analyzed

Low-Memory Techniques for Routing and Fault-Tolerance on the Fat-Tree Topology

Actualmente, los clústeres de PCs están considerados como una alternativa eficiente a la hora de construir supercomputadores en los que miles de nodos de computación se conectan mediante una red de interconexión. La red de interconexión tiene que ser diseñada cuidadosamente, puesto que tiene una gran influencia sobre las prestaciones globales del sistema. Dos de los principales parámetros de diseño de las redes de interconexión son la topología y el encaminamiento. La topología define la interconexión de los elementos de la red entre sí, y entre éstos y los nodos de computación. Por su parte, el encaminamiento define los caminos que siguen los paquetes a través de la red. Las prestaciones han sido tradicionalmente la principal métrica a la hora de evaluar las redes de interconexión. Sin embargo, hoy en día hay que considerar dos métricas adicionales: el coste y la tolerancia a fallos. Las redes de interconexión además de escalar en prestaciones también deben hacerlo en coste. Es decir, no sólo tienen que mantener su productividad conforme aumenta el tamaño de la red, sino que tienen que hacerlo sin incrementar sobremanera su coste. Por otra parte, conforme se incrementa el número de nodos en las máquinas de tipo clúster, la red de interconexión debe crecer en concordancia. Este incremento en el número de elementos de la red de interconexión aumenta la probabilidad de aparición de fallos, y por lo tanto, la tolerancia a fallos es prácticamente obligatoria para las redes de interconexión actuales. Esta tesis se centra en la topología fat-tree, ya que es una de las topologías más comúnmente usadas en los clústeres. El objetivo de esta tesis es aprovechar sus características particulares para proporcionar tolerancia a fallos y un algoritmo de encaminamiento capaz de equilibrar la carga de la red proporcionando una buena solución de compromiso entre las prestaciones y el coste.Gómez Requena, C. (2010). Low-Memory Techniques for Routing and Fault-Tolerance on the Fat-Tree Topology [Tesis doctoral no publicada]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/8856Palanci