Bounds on the time to detect failures using bounded-capacity message links

The authors consider a system of distributed processors that communicate by passing messages and that have inexact information about time. Specifically, a processor knows that a single message is delayed by at most time d and the time between any two of its consecutive steps is at least e/sub 1/ and at most e/sub 2/; it has no other way of estimating elapsed time. The author extends this model by making a realistic assumption about how the delay of messages is affected by the rate at which they are sent. He defines a model of message links with bounded capacity, which are guaranteed to deliver messages at only a given rate. If a processor sends messages at a greater rate, they may incur greater delay. The effect of this bounded capacity on the time necessary to detect processor failures, is quantified. The author considers a system of two processors connected by a bidirectional message link of a given (integral) capacity.< >