Abstract
Tandem builds single-fault-tolerant computer systems. At the hardware level, the system is designed as a loosely coupled multi-processor with fail-fast modules connected via dual paths. It is designed for online diagnosis and maintenance. A range of CPUs may be inter- connected via a hierarchical fault-tolerant local network. A variety of peripherals needed for online transaction processing are attached via dual ported controllers. A novel disc subsystem allows a choice between low cost-per-Mbyte and low cost-per-access. System software provides processes and messages as the basic structuring mechanism. Processes provide software modularity and fault isolation. Process pairs tolerate hardware and transient software failures. Applications are structured as requesting processes making remote procedure calls to server processes. Process server classes utilize multi-processors. The resulting process abstractions provide a distributed system which can utilize thousands of processors. Networking protocols such as SNA, OSI, and a proprietary network are built atop this base. A relational database provides distributed data and distributed transactions. An application generator allows users to develop fault-tolerant applications as though the system were a conventional computer. The resulting system has price/performance competitive with conventional systems.
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© 1987 Springer-Verlag/Wien
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Bartlett, J., Gray, J., Horst, B. (1987). Fault Tolerance in Tandem Computer Systems. In: Avižienis, A., Kopetz, H., Laprie, JC. (eds) The Evolution of Fault-Tolerant Computing. Dependable Computing and Fault-Tolerant Systems, vol 1. Springer, Vienna. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-7091-8871-2_3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-7091-8871-2_3
Publisher Name: Springer, Vienna
Print ISBN: 978-3-7091-8873-6
Online ISBN: 978-3-7091-8871-2
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