Software System Reliability Analysis

Qualtech Systems, Inc., in cooperation with the University of Connecticut, proposes to develop a model-based system reliability and availability analysis methodology which considers the impact of different factors, including interactions between the hardware and software components, hardware and software architecture, failure severities, repair parameters, system architecture, and redundancy and fault tolerance in an integrated manner. The methodology consists of models at four tiers -- each successive tier incorporates additional detail and requires finer data than the tier above it. This approach will make it feasible to conduct analysis even using partial data - a significant advantage over existing techniques. The proposed methodology could also be applied to evaluate alternative system configurations, to determine availability "hot-spots" and to identify potential candidates for reuse.