On the Preservation of Properties when Changing Communication Models

TL;DR

This paper investigates how different communication channel layouts in asynchronous FIFO systems affect system behavior, establishing conditions under which safety, reachability, deadlock freedom, and confluence are preserved when changing layouts.

Contribution

It introduces an ordering based on splitting and merging channels that induces a simulation relation, ensuring property preservation across different channel configurations.

Findings

Safety properties are preserved under certain channel layout changes.

Conditions for preserving reachability, deadlock freedom, and confluence are identified.

The proposed ordering provides a formal basis for comparing channel layouts.

Abstract

In a system of processes that communicate asynchronously by means of FIFO channels, there are many options in which these channels can be laid out. In this paper, we compare channel layouts in how they affect the behaviour of the system using an ordering based on splitting and merging channels. This order induces a simulation relation, from which the preservation of safety properties follows. Also, we identify conditions under which the properties reachability, deadlock freedom and confluence are preserved when changing the channel layout.