Abstract

Communication in real-time systems has to be predictable, because unpredictable delays in the delivery of messages can adversely affect the execution of tasks dependent on these messages. In this paper, we develop a scheme for providing predictable inter-process communication in real-time systems with (partially connected) point--to--point interconnection networks, which provides guarantees on the maximum delivery time for messages. This scheme is based on the concept of a real-time channel, a unidirectional connection between source and destination. A real-time channel has parameters which describe the performance requirements of the source-- destination communication, e.g., from a sensor station to a control site. Once such a channel is established, the communications subsystem guarantees that these performance requirements will be met. In this paper, we concentrate on methods to compute guarantees for the delivery time of messages belonging to real-time channels. We also address pro...

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