Using Metamorphic Relations in Redundancy-based Fault/Intrusion Tolerance

Redundancy is widely used as a method for fault and intrusion tolerance. However, if the redundant components lack sufficient diversity, potentially dangerous common mode failures may go undetected. To address this issue, the design diversity approach has been proposed in the literature for decades. In this paper, we take an innovative approach to this problem by introducing a broader notion of diversity, which leverages Metamorphic Relations (MRs), i.e., necessary properties that must hold among diverse inputs and diverse outputs. We define two generic categories of MRs that establish data diversity and functional diversity. Furthermore, we elaborate on two corresponding logical architectures, paying particular attention to the necessary conditions for the adjudicator component. Finally, we present an initial evaluation of the proposed architectures, which points out the advantages with respect to their counterparts based on the traditional design diversity method, and discuss future research directions for this novel conceptual approach to redundancy-based fault/intrusion tolerance.