Time-constrained distributed program reliability analysis

In this paper, we propose an approach to the reliability analysis of distributed programs that addresses real-time constraints. Our approach is based on a model for evaluating transmission time, which allows us to find the time needed to complete execution of the program, task, or mission under evaluation. With information on time-constraints, the corresponding Markov state space can then be defined for reliability computation. To speed up the evaluation process and reduce the size of the Markov state space, several dynamic reliability-preserving reductions are developed. A simple distributed real-time system is used as an example to illustrate the feasibility and uniqueness of the proposed approach.