Efficient schemes for constructing reliable computing nodes in distributed systems
US5754757A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jun 23, 1995 |
| Grant date | May 19, 1998 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jun 23, 2015 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06F2201/83
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
This invention relates to a computing system, a fail-silent node for use in a computing system and a method of organizing information so that a number of microprocessors in a computing node, which are arranged to receive messages from other components in the computing system and to process the received messages so as to transmit the results of this processing to other components in the system, compare the results of their processing and send nothing out from the node unless either all the microprocessors in the mode produce identical results or more than half of the microprocessors in the node produce identical results. This is achieved by manipulating the order in which messages are processed by each microprocessor so as to ensure that each microprocessor in the node receives the same messages, orders these same messages so that messages within each microprocessor are processed in the same order, thus ensuring, if all the microprocessors are functioning correctly, that the same results are produced.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.