The Measurement and Statistical Modeling of Computer Reliability as Affected by System Activity

Abstract

This report describes the research performed during a three year study of computer reliability as affected by system activity. Data collected over an eight year period on three generations of computers was analyzed to determine what relationships exist between failures and activity. The activity included type of utilization, as well as amount of activity (or load) on the computer at time of failure. The failures included both software and hardware (transient, intermittent, and permanent). Another aspect of the research was an evaluation of the fault tolerance provided by the computer system as indicated by software error detection and recovery rates. A third major area of research was the development of a methodology for analysis of failure prediction data. Keywords: Reliability Modeling; Failure/Load Relationship; Failure Prediction; Fault Tolerance; Computer Utilization Rates; Error Detection; Error Correction.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Nov 01, 1985
Accession Number
ADA164249

Entities

People

  • Dorothy M. Andrews
  • Edward J. Mccluskey

Organizations

  • Stanford University

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Human Systems

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Central Processing Units
  • Computer Science
  • Computers
  • Contracts
  • Databases
  • Engineering
  • Failure Mode And Effect Analysis
  • Fault Tolerance
  • Fault Tolerant Computing
  • Information Science
  • Linear Accelerators
  • Measurement
  • Operating Systems
  • Reliability
  • Software Development
  • Statistical Analysis
  • Test And Evaluation

Fields of Study

  • Engineering

Readers

  • Computational Modeling and Simulation
  • Inertial Navigation Systems.