NETWORK FAULT DIAGNOSIS: KNOWLEDGE REPRESENTATION USING PARALLEL REASONING.

Abstract

The FIESTA-fault-isolation expert system for TDRSS (tracking and data relay satellite system) applications is an operator decision aid being developed for NASA to support fault detection and diagnosis functions at the network control center of a space-based tracking and data communications network. A description is given of a framework for network fault diagnosis which accommodates both structural and experiential logic. A generalized model is defined that maps this hybrid approach into an implementable, operational architecture. Attention is focused on the parallel-reasoning paradigm employed and the use of uncertainty management, both within individual reasoning chains and in the forming of summary conclusions which incorporate independently derived results.