Cloud Lockstep Execution for Consistent Safety-Critical Applications
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing systems lack efficient methods for executing functionally equivalent applications in a cloud environment that ensure high availability and meet safety-critical requirements, particularly in applications like automated vehicle guidance, where consistent and reliable results are crucial.
Innovation Solution
A system and method utilizing multiple cloud instances to execute functionally equivalent applications, with a comparison device to ensure identical results through lockstep processing and majority voting, and Kubernetes-based monitoring for redundancy and efficient execution.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If multiple cloud instances execute functionally equivalent applications to ensure high availability, then reliability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system divides the application execution into multiple independent cloud instances, each capable of processing the same input data independently. This segmentation allows the system to maintain high availability by distributing the computational load across multiple instances while keeping each instance relatively simple in structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent combines multiple execution results from different cloud instances through a result comparison mechanism. The comparison device merges the outputs from multiple instances and validates consistency, achieving high availability while managing system complexity through standardized comparison protocols.
2Measurement precision
If multiple applications process the same input data to ensure reliability, then measurement precision is improved, but loss of time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by executing multiple applications in parallel on the same input data simultaneously rather than sequentially. This parallel execution approach maintains result consistency through comparison while minimizing time loss by avoiding sequential processing delays.
Solution Approach 2:
The comparison device provides feedback by validating the results from multiple cloud instances. When results are consistent, the system confirms high measurement precision; when inconsistencies are detected, the feedback mechanism triggers further validation or error handling, ensuring result reliability.
Data Source
AI summary
A system for executing functionally equivalent applications. The system includes a cloud system including a plurality of cloud instances, the plurality of cloud instances being set up in each case to execute a functionally equivalent application in each case based on the same input data, the respective execution including a processing of the input data by the respective application in order to output an application result in each case, and a comparison device, which is set up to compare the respective application results in order to ascertain a comparison result and to output the comparison result that has been ascertained. A method for executing functionally equivalent applications, a computer program, and a machine-readable storage medium, are also described.