Applications of software fault tolerance testing methodology

The robustness of a telecommunications software system and network depends on the system's ability to detect and tolerate faults. Lack of robustness features can lead to millions of dollars of revenue lost in the network. This paper discusses a unique approach for software fault tolerance testing on three software systems in the telecommunications industry (a broadband ATM switching system, a SONET-based transport network, and an operations support system). Although applications for the three system vary, the Software Fault Insertion Testing (SFIT) methodology used here produced consistent results of finding general software fault tolerance deficiencies in the software design.