COSC 6385 Computer Architecture September 24th 2007

Quiz 1

Name:_______________________________________

2) In order to minimize the MTTF of their mission critical computers, each task on the
space shuttle is executed by two computers simultaneously. Computer A is from
manufacturer X and has a MTTF of 40,000 hours, while computer B is from
manufacturer Y and has a different MTTF. The overall MTTF of the system is
4,000,000 hours.
a. How large is the probability that the entire system fails during a 400 hour ( 1 Pts)
mission?

P = 400h/4,000,000h = 0.001 = 0.1%

b. What MTTF does the second/backup computer have if the MTTF of the overall
system is 4,000,000 hours, assuming that Computer A is failing right at the beginning ( 3 Pts)
of the 400 hour mission and the MTTR is 400h (i.e. the system can only be repaired
after landing)? Please detail your calculations, since you might get partial points.

MTTF of computer B: x
MTTF of the system not taking failures into account:

1 1
FIT = +
40,000 x
1 1 40,000 x
MTTFw / o = = =
FIT 1 1 40,000 + x
+
40,000 x
MTTF taking into account that the second system is the backup of the first system

40,000 x
MTTFw / o 40,000 + x 4 ⋅10 4 x 2
MTTFw = = =
MTTR 400 16 ⋅10 6 + 4 ⋅10 2 x
x x
4 2
4 ⋅10 x
4 ⋅ 106 =
16 ⋅10 6 + 4 ⋅10 2 x
4 ⋅10 6 (16 ⋅ 106 + 4 ⋅ 10 2 x) = 4 ⋅ 10 4 x 2
0 = 4 ⋅ 10 4 x 2 − 16 ⋅108 x − 64 ⋅1012
0 = x 2 − 4 ⋅10 4 x − 16 ⋅108
x = (1 + 5 )2 ⋅10 4 ≈ 6.47 ⋅10 4