Operational Profiling of OS Drivers

Operating Systems (OSs) constitute the operational core for computing devices, and consequently, the OS s ability to sustain operations determines the dependability level of the provided system services. In order to facilitate their applicability to a variety of hardware platforms, OSs have evolved into complex, componentized software entities whose key function is to provide applications access to the system s hardware resources. Within the OS, the components dominating the cause of failures are the device drivers (DDs), precisely the OS parts designed to enhance the OS s support for hardware. Unfortunately, despite intensive efforts to elevate DD s robustness levels by employing varied test paradigms, the existing DDs still exhibit very high failure rates. Obviously, testing the complete state space of a DD is neither technically or economically viable. Based on extensive empirical DD evaluations, the central premise behind this book involves the characterization of a DD s operational profile, and using it for focusing subsequent testing to the functional areas likely to be exercised over the DD deployment.