Verifying distributed real-time properties of embedded systems via graph transformations and model checking

Component middleware provides dependable and efficient platforms that support key functional, and quality of service (QoS) needs of distributed real-time embedded (DRE) systems. Component middleware, however, also introduces challenges for DRE system developers, such as evaluating the predictability of DRE system behavior, and choosing the right design alternatives before committing to a specific platform or platform configuration. Model-based technologies help address these issues by enabling design-time analysis, and providing the means to automate the development, deployment, configuration, and integration of component-based DRE systems. To this end, this paper applies model checking techniques to DRE design models using model transformations to verify key QoS properties of component-based DRE systems developed using Real-time CORBA. We introduce a formal semantic domain for a general class of DRE systems that enables the verification of distributed non-preemptive real-time scheduling. Our results show that model-based techniques enable design-time analysis of timed properties and can be applied to effectively predict, simulate, and verify the event-driven behavior of component-based DRE systems.