Reliability tests of X-25 packet switching network based on the system Energonet-PS1

The Energonet-PS1 system represents a flexible base for the realization of packet-switching wide-area computer-communication networks of different topologies, capacities, and purposes. The authors discuss the reliability issues of the Energonet-PS1. The program of reliability tests was defined according to the US military standard for reliability, MIL-STD-781C. A computer-communication network with 10 nodes, based on Energonet-PS1, was tested. The goal of these tests was to check the hypothesis that the mean time between failures (MTBF) of the system is 144 hours. The definition of the system failure based on CCITT recommendation X.140, was very rigorous; even an unexpected reset of a virtual circuit was considered a failure. It is concluded that the tests performed supported the hypothesis concerning the MTBF.