Blocking time under basic priority inheritance: Polynomial bound and exact computation

TL;DR

This paper introduces a polynomial bound and an exact, efficient method for computing maximum blocking time under the Priority Inheritance Protocol, addressing a longstanding challenge in real-time systems analysis.

Contribution

It provides the first exact and polynomial-time method for calculating blocking times under PIP, improving accuracy and efficiency over existing approaches.

Findings

Developed a polynomial bound for blocking time under PIP.

Created an exact, optimally efficient computation method.

Applicable to general real-time system scenarios.

Abstract

The Priority Inheritance Protocol (PIP) is arguably the best-known protocol for resource sharing under real-time constraints. Its importance in modern applications is undisputed. Nevertheless, because jobs may be blocked under PIP for a variety of reasons, determining a job's maximum blocking time could be difficult, and thus far no exact method has been proposed that does it. Existing analysis methods are inefficient, inaccurate, and of limited applicability. This article proposes a new characterization of the problem, thus allowing a polynomial method for bounding the blocking time, and an exact, optimally efficient method for blocking time computation under priority inheritance that have a general applicability.