System software for redundancy management of avionics complexes

The paper presents the main results on the substantiation of functions, algorithms, software structure and features of the practical implementation of redundancy management system software (RMSS) intended for implementation in advanced avionics complexes. The authors use a method of managing the reconfiguration of heterogeneous redundant resources of on-board equipment based on configuration supervisors that are special software objects, each of which is correlated with a specific configuration of equipment and performs all the procedures for preparing and implementing this configuration. The paper describes the main provisions of the developed approach based on configuration supervisors. It also presents the information structure of supervisors including a readiness buffer, configuration tables and functional efficiency indicators, monitoring modules, configuration arbitration, mode formation, management, as well as auxiliary and buffer files. There is a presentation of the supervisor arbitration procedure including the stages of intercomputation and intersupervisory arbitration. The paper defines RMSS tasks and functions consisting in monitoring the condition, forming readiness indices and indicators of functional efficiency of configurations, adaptation to the complex operating modes, selection and implementation of configurations. The proposed RMSS structure includes a global, an external and internal levels implemented through configuration tables, executive procedures and buffer auxiliary files. The main features of the practical implementation of RMSS in the onboard computing environment of integrated avionics with a real-time operating system are formulated. The proposed solutions and algorithms can be used in forming requirements and designing promising fault-tolerant on-board complexes with an excessive number of hetero-geneous resources, in developing appropriate on-board software.