Covers software fault tolerance with emphasis on distributed systems. Key topics covered include fail stop processors, stable storage, reliable communication, synchronized clocks and failure detection.
Fault tolerance is an approach by which reliability of a computer system can be increased beyond what can be achieved by traditional methods. While hardware supported fault tolerance has been well-documented, the newer, software supported fault tolerance techniques have remained scattered throughout the literature. Comprehensive and self-contained, this book organizes that body of knowledge with a focus on fault tolerance in distributed systems. (The uniprocess case is treated as a special case of distributed systems.) KEY TOPICS: Treats fault tolerant distributed systems as consisting of levels of abstraction, providing different tolerant services. For researchers/practitioners working in the area of fault tolerance.