Overcoming babbling-idiot failures in the FlexCAN architecture: a simple bus-guardian

The paper is concerned with the key issue of protecting FlexCAN networks against the babbling-idiot faults, e.g., node faults that busy the bus unduly. A full solution of the problem would enhance the dependability of these networks greatly, making them attractive for safety-critical applications. After analyzing the various modes by which a babbling-idiot fault affects the network operation, a classification of the babbling-idiot faults into hardware and software is proposed. Then it is shown that the FlexCAN architecture provides a suitable means for tolerating hardware babbling-idiot faults. Afterwards, a simple bus-guardian is proposed to cope with the software babbling-idiot faults in the FlexCAN environment. The proposed bus-guardian has been implemented and tested, and some significant results are given to demonstrate its effectiveness