초록 ▼

In order to provide a microprocessor based fault tolerant computing system, hardware counters or event monitors that are normally included on the microprocessor chips are used to count application instructions that are being executed by the microprocessors. By counting the instructions and preemptin

In order to provide a microprocessor based fault tolerant computing system, hardware counters or event monitors that are normally included on the microprocessor chips are used to count application instructions that are being executed by the microprocessors. By counting the instructions and preempting the execution of the application program after a predetermined number of instructions have been executed, it is possible to cause the application programs to execute in congruent frames so that results from the application can be checked at congruent points of their execution. If the results do not match, then the program can be terminated or if a number of microprocessors are being used, the results can be voted on and the ones that match can be used in further computation by the system.

대표청구항 ▼

1. A fault tolerant computing system comprising:a plurality of microprocessors each having a substantially identical application program and each having an executive program; data input means for applying the same data to said microprocessors; count means located in each of said microprocessors for

1. A fault tolerant computing system comprising:a plurality of microprocessors each having a substantially identical application program and each having an executive program; data input means for applying the same data to said microprocessors; count means located in each of said microprocessors for counting each instruction of said application program executed by said microprocessors; start means associated with said executive program for starting said application program on each of said microprocessors at approximately the same time; preemption means associated with said executive program and responsive to said count means for halting said application program on each of said microprocessors after a predetermined number of said instructions of said application program have been executed; comparison means for comparing the results of said application programs after said predetermined number of instructions have been executed; and resumption means associated with said executive program for resuming the execution of said application program on each of said microprocessors.