The FlakyIO project examines the ability of applications to handle exceptions. We use callee-generated software exception generation to determine an application's ability to handle error conditions.

The concept of the FlakyIO architecture can be applied to any subsystem or module that generates an exception for the caller to handle. We chose to explore I/O because I/O has a well-known standard for error generation. We are able to test a large number of applications without having to customize the exception generation.

SOFTWARE

FlakyPOSIX: A Flaky Distributed Filesystem [DEMO]
The fault model in one of our own uses of FlakyIO has been to emulate network failures in a distributed filesystem. We tested the open source GNU textutils and binutils. These utilities are typically distributed as fundamental tools used in Linux. We used the PARIS program analysis tool as the basis for FlakyIO.

FlakyPalm: A Flaky Wireless Network [DEMO]
A handheld device is the most suceptible to network failures. We have used the FlakyIO architecture to inject controlled faults into the networking of a wireless handheld device. In spite of a wireless network being more apparently flaky than a wired one, applications still fail to account for possible errors.

FlakyNet: A Flaky Network Server [DEMO]
It is not just wireless handheld devices that have to account for network failures. While a wired network may seem more reliable, with denial of service attacks more likely the network is more reliable but our servers are more flaky. We inject controlled faults into distributed applications to determine their ability to handle flaky servers.

FlakyPHP: Coming Soon!

FlakyCORBA: Coming Soon!

FlakyJava: Coming Soon!

FlakyDatabase: Coming Soon!

RELATED PROJECTS

• Ballista, Carnegie Mellon University
• Fuzz, University of Wisconsin
• Pervasive Dependability, AT&T Research
• CrashMe
• Bug Isolation, Berkeley