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ABSTRACT

With the increasing use of computing systems in such crucial areas as medicine and space, there has come a great need for computers that remain operational in spite of hardware failures. This paper provides a brief overview of several approaches to fault-tolerant computing. Five hardware redundancy techniques are reviewed: static, dynamic, hybrid, self-purging and the reconfiguration scheme. In addition, the advantages and disadvantages of error correcting codes and software fault-tolerant systems are outlined as well as bi-duplexed systems, alternating logic, fail-soft and shared logic systems. It is suggested that perhaps the best fault-tolerant system employ a combination of hardware redundant techniques and software protection.

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