Self-stabilizing device drivers

Abstract

This work presents approaches for designing the input-output device management components of self-stabilizing operating systems. As an example, we demonstrate the nonstability of the ata standard protocol for storage devices. We state the requirements that an operating system and I/O devices should satisfy in order to become self-stabilizing. Then we suggest two solutions to satisfy these requirements. The first uses leases to guarantee progress from the I/O device side. The second assumes stabilization of the I/O device, and uses snapshots to perform consistency checks. A device driver for a PC hard-disk, using the first solution, was implemented. By supplying an infrastructure for practical self-stabilizing systems, robust and dependable systems can be achieved.