INTERPROCESSOR COMMUNICATION FOR FAULT-DIAGNOSIS IN MULTIPROCESSOR SYSTEMS

In the present paper a simple technique is proposed for fault diagnosis for multiprocessor and multiple system environments, wherein all microprocessors in the system are used in part to check the health of their neighbouring processors. It involves building simple fail-safe serial communication links between processors. Processors communicate with each other over these links and each processor is made to go through certain sequences of actions intended for diagnosis, under the observation of another processor. With limited overheads, fault detection can be done by this method. Also outlined are some of the popular techniques used for health check of processor-based systems.