
A potential problem that may arise in the domain of distributed control systems is the existence of more than one primary controller in redundancy plans which may lead to inconsistency. We worked on an algorithm called NRP FD (Network Reference Point Failure Detection), proposed by industry, to solve this issue by prioritizing consistency over availability. I explain how by using modeling and formal verification, we discovered an issue in NRP FD where we may have two primary controllers at the same time. We then provide a solution to mitigate the identified issue, thereby enhancing the robustness and reliability of such systems. In the same context, I will also show how we used model checking for making informed decisions in designing test cases for fault-tolerant systems. I will add a discussion on how this approach may be generalized in different contexts.

Professor @ Mälardalen University