Degree Name

MS (Master of Science)

Program

Computer and Information Science

Date of Award

12-2005

Committee Chair or Co-Chairs

David Tarnoff

Committee Members

Phillip E. Pfeiffer IV, Jeff R. Knisley

Abstract

Users of high availability (HA) computing require systems that run continuously, with little or no downtime. Modern PCs address HA needs by monitoring operating system parameters such as voltage, temperature, and hard drive status in order to anticipate possible system failure. However, one modality for PC monitoring that has been underutilized is sound. The application described here uses wavelet theory to analyze sounds produced by PC hard drives during standard operation. When twenty-nine hard drives were tested with the application and the results compared with the drives' Self-Monitoring, Analysis, and Reporting Technology (S.M.A.R.T.) data, the binomial distribution's low p-value of 0.012 indicated better than chance agreement. While the concurrence between the two systems shows that sound is an effective tool in detecting hardware failures, the disagreements between the systems show that the application can complement S.M.A.R.T. in an HA system.

Document Type

Thesis - unrestricted

Copyright

Copyright by the authors.

Share

COinS