1984 Reports

Algebraic Specification-Based Performance Analysis or Communication Protocols

Nounou, Nihal; Yemini, Yechiam

Safe and live protocols have been shown to exhibit timing errors. To avoid such errors, timing requirements of protocols should be specified and verified. In this paper, a method for mapping algebraic functional behavior descriptions into corresponding timing behavior descriptions is introduced. Constraints on timing behavior are then expressed and used in specifying and verifying protocol timing requirements. In addition, various protocol performance measures are defined and analyzed. Using the Alternating Bit protocol as an example, an upper bound on the protocol's timeout rate, such that it meets a given timeout requirement, is computed and its maximum throughput and mean transfer time are analyzed.