Dependable computing: concepts, limits, challenges

Abstract

Our society is faced with an ever increasing dependence on computing systems, which lead to question ourselves about the limits of their dependability, and about the challenges raised by those limits. In order to respond these questions, a global conceptual and terminological framework is needed, which is first given. The limits and challenges in dependability are then addressed, from technical and financial viewpoints. The recognition that design faults are the major limiting factor leads to recommending the extension of fault tolerance from products to their production process.