Resource scheduling in dependable integrated modular avionics

In the recent development of avionics systems, Integrated Modular Avionics (IMA) is advocated for next generation architecture that needs integration of mixed-criticality real-time applications. These integrated applications meet their own timing constraints while sharing avionics computer resources. To guarantee timing constraints and dependability of each application, an IMA-based system is equipped with the schemes for spatial and temporal partitioning. We refer the model as SP-RTS (Strongly Partitioned Real-Time System), which deals with processor partitions and communication channels as its basic scheduling entities. This paper presents a partition and channel-scheduling algorithm for the SP-RTS. The basic idea of the algorithm is to use a two-level hierarchical schedule that activates partitions (or channels) following a distance-constraints guaranteed cyclic schedule and then dispatches tasks (or messages) according to a fixed priority schedule. To enhance schedulability, we devised heuristic algorithms for deadline decomposition and channel combining. The simulation results show the schedulability analysis of the two-level scheduling algorithm and the beneficial characteristics of the proposed deadline decomposition and channel combining algorithms.