A Localized Software-based Approach for Fault-Tolerant Ethernet (LSFTE)

Nowadays, there are various networked systems with many computers. In most networked systems, a crucial objective is to keep transmitting and/or receiving data continuously even though failures exist. How can one make a computer continue transmitting and/or receiving data even when there are some errors on a link? Fault-Tolerant Ethernet (FTE) can be a solution to this question. In this paper, we propose a Localized Software-based Fault-Tolerant Ethernet (LSFTE). Our new approach fulfills the general FTE requirements. It takes advantage of redundant cable lines to maintain communication in a faulty environment. A software layer, which uses a simple and effective algorithm, is added above the LAN card driver software to detect and overcome faults. For our approach, there is no need to change the existing hardware or the end-use interfaces. Furthermore, the fault-detection time is reduced significantly compared to the conventional software-based approach.