Space station Ada runtime support for nested atomic transactions

Abstract

The Space Station Data Management System (DMS), associated computing subsystems, and applications have varying degrees of reliability associated with their operation. A model has been developed (McKay '86) which allows the DMS runtime environment to appear as an Ada virtual machine to applications executing within it. This model is modular, flexible, and dynamically configurable to allow for evolution and growth over time. Support for Fault-tolerant computing is included within this model. The basic primitive involved in this support is based on atomic actions (Grey '78). An atomic action possesses two fundamental properties: (1) it is indivisible with respect to concurrent actions, and (2) it is indivisible with respect to failure. A transaction is a collection of atomic actions which collectively appear to be one action. Transactions may be nested, providing even more powerful support for reliability. A proposed approach is described for providing support for nested atomic transactions within the Ada runtime model developed for the Space Station environment. The level of support is modular, flexible and dynamically configurable just like the overall runtime support environment.