The vast majority of computer systems in use today do allow at least some kinds of deadlock and indefinite postponement situations to develop, and many of these systems provide no automatic means of detecting and recovering from these problems. In fact, many designers believe that it is virtually impossible to certify a system as absolutely free of the possibilities of deadlock and indefinite postponement. Indicate how these observations should affect the design of “mission-critical” systems.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

There are many mission-critical applications, such as air traffic control and life sup- port, in which computer systems simply cannot be allowed to fail. Deadlock and indefinite postponement in such systems could cause catastrophic failures. Designers must carefully minimize the chance of deadlock and indefinite postponement. If either occurs, they must be detected and removed immediately. Also, backup components become especially critical, so that if one subsystem fails, the backup is highly likely to keep the system functioning. We will discuss fault-tolerant systems throughout this text.