APPLICATION OF VON NEUMANN REDUNDANCY TECHNIQUES TO THE RELIABLE DESIGN OF DIGITAL COMPUTERS
Abstract
The engineering problems are analyzed that arise in the attempt to implement various redundant information-processing concepts, having reliability augmentation as their aim, in the design of digital computers. The application of the various concepts to the mechanization of all the functions which must be provided in a computer is considered, and the conclusion drawn that not all such concepts are useful in terms of providing the required functions. One concept, functional majority logic redundancy, is the subject of exhaustive development and analysis. Circuits based on this concept are applied to an ADDER element of a real computer at two levels. It is shown that the design concept is primarily sensitive to part failure modes; the sensitivity is quantitatively analyzed, and methods of compensation for the reliability-limiting failure modes are developed. The analysis demonstrates that maximum reliability augmentation is obtained from the application of functional majority logic redundancy at intermediate, rather than lowest, logic levels. The conclusion is reached that the maximum reliability increase to be obtained for digital computers from the use of redundant information processing will result from a synthesis of the concepts proposed to date. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Apr 04, 1962
- Accession Number
- AD0275165
Entities
People
- D.o. Baechler
- J.a. Mcgill
- L.e. Dostert
Organizations
- ARINC