Distributed Control System Fault Identification via Node Synchronization
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Solution Overview
Problem
Distributed systems with fewer than four nodes face challenges in fault identification due to inconsistencies in information sharing among nodes, leading to potential system failures.
Innovation Solution
A distributed system architecture where each node includes a common-parameter-value determining unit, a common-operation execution unit, and a fault identification unit that compares results to determine errors, allowing for reliable fault identification even with three nodes by sharing and synchronizing input values and operation results across the network.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a mutual node monitoring system is implemented with three nodes, then fault identification becomes possible for small systems, but the system cannot reliably identify faults due to information inconsistency among nodes
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by having all nodes exchange and agree upon common input values before executing operations. This pre-synchronization of input data ensures that when nodes later compare their operation results, any discrepancies can be reliably attributed to node failures rather than input data differences, enabling reliable fault identification in three-node systems
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback mechanisms where nodes continuously exchange operation results and compare them with their own results. When a node detects that its result differs from the majority, it can identify itself as potentially faulty and request re-execution, creating a closed-loop feedback system that maintains reliability even with only three nodes
2Reliability
If nodes operate independently in a distributed system, then system autonomy and fault tolerance are improved, but information sharing among nodes deteriorates leading to contradictory operations
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies universality by implementing a common operation execution mechanism where all nodes perform the same operation with the same input values. This universal approach ensures that all nodes generate consistent results under normal conditions, and any deviation can be reliably detected as a fault, thereby maintaining both independence and information consistency
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses the network communication protocol as an intermediary to facilitate information sharing. Nodes exchange input values and operation results through this intermediary mechanism, ensuring that fault occurrence information is consistently shared across all nodes while maintaining their independent operation capabilities
Data Source
AI summary
There is provided a distributed system having a plurality of nodes connected by a network. Each of the nodes includes: a common-parameter-value determining unit for determining a common-parameter-value from values of a parameter (each value being possessed by a corresponding one of the nodes); a common-operation execution unit for executing a common-operation using, as its input, a value of the parameter or the common-parameter-value; a send/receive unit for exchanging, via the network, the parameter values used for the determination of the common-parameter-value and the results of the common-operation execution with the other nodes; and a fault identification unit that compares the common-operation execution results collected from all the nodes and determines that an error occurs if not all the results are the same.