Proofs of correctness of cache-coherence protocols

Abstract

We describe two proofs of correctness for Cachet, an adaptive cache-coherence protocol. Each proof demonstrates soundness (conformance to an abstract cache memory model CRF) and liveness. One proof is manual, based on a term-rewriting system definition; the other is machine-assisted, based on a TLA formulation and using PVS. A two-stage presentation of the protocol simplifies the treatment of soundness, in the design and in the proofs, by separating all liveness concerns. The TLA formulation demands precision about what aspects of the system's behavior are observable, bringing complication to some parts which were trivial in the manual proof. Handing a completed design over for independent verification is unlikely to be successful: the prover requires detailed insight into the design, and the designer must keep correctness concerns at the forefront of the design process. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2001.