59/2006 : Architecture Support for Temporal Predictability and Composability in Real-Time Computing

RR Number

59/2006

Comment

extended abstract for invited talk

Conference

4th International Conference on Information and 4th Irish Conference on the Mathematical Foundations of Computer Science and Information Technology, 2006

Author(s)

Abstract

As more and more complex and performance-optimized hardware components are deployed in real-time systems, the complexity of timing predictions is steadily growing. Further, a strong dependence of software timing on the hardly predictable hardware state of computer systems imposes a big obstacle to temporal composability. Thus, performing an accurate and safe timing analysis of software and applying a structured software development process (i.e., using a hierarchical approach that builds complex software by a meaningful composition of simpler building blocks) is in general almost impossible. In this talk we present our thoughts on a software and hardware architecture for building real-time systems that are both temporally predictable and composable. This architecture uses a very strict, time-triggered model for both communication and input/output operations. Further, it relies on single-path code (code that is free from input-data dependent control flow) in both application software and the operating system. Tasks are only preempted at pre-planned preemption points and a very simple clock synchronization keeps all operations of the real-time system in synchrony with the real-time environment. The proposed architecture yields computer systems that are both temporally predictable and composable. Building real-time applications, verifying the temporal correctness of these applications, and tracing the timing of software on this architecture is simple.

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