Fault-Tolerant Systems

CHAPTER 4 Fault-Tolerant Networks

Interconnection networks are widely used today. The simplest example is a network connecting processors and memory modules in a shared-memory multiprocessor, in which processors perform read or write operations in the memory modules. Another example is a network connecting a number of processors (typically with their own local memory) in a distributed system, allowing the processors to communicate through messages while executing parts of a common application. In these two types of network, the individual components (processors and memories) are connected through a collection of links and switchboxes, where a switchbox allows a given component to communicate with several other components without having a separate ...