Dependability Concepts

Abstract

This chapter does not deal with Delta-4 per se but is aimed at giving informal but precise definitions characterizing the various attributes of computing systems dependability. It is a contribution to the work undertaken within the “Reliable and Fault Tolerant Computing” scientific and technical community [Anderson and Lee 1981, Avizienis 1978, Avizienis and Laprie 1986, Carter 1979, Cristian et al. 1985, FTCS12, Jessep 1977, Laprie 1985, Laprie 1989, Melliar-Smith and Randell 1977, Randell et al. 1978, Siewiorek and Johnson 1982] in order to propose clear and widely acceptable definitions for some basic concepts. Readers already familiar with this terminology may wish to skip this chapter.

This chapter is a result of work partially financed by the Esprit basic research action project PDCS (Predictably Dependable Computing Systems). It is also the basis of pre-standardization work being carried out by the IFIP 10.4 working group on Dependable Computing and Fault-Tolerance. It has been included in this book about the Delta-4 architecture in order to provide a well-defined terminological and conceptual framework.