On the integration of DDS and AFDX standards

Abstract

Standard distribution middleware has traditionally been perceived as complex software which is not suitable for satisfying the highest certification criteria in safety-critical environments. However, this idea is slowly changing and there are efforts such as the Future Airborne Capability Environment (FACE) consortium to integrate standard distribution middleware into the development of avionic systems. This integration facilitates the interoperability and portability of avionic applications, but there are still challenges that need to be addressed before full success can be achieved. To this end, this paper explores the usage of the Data Distribution Service for Real-Time Systems (DDS) on top of a partitioned system with a communication network based on the ARINC 664 specification (precisely, the AFDX network). This work specifically identifies the incompatibilities between the two standards and also proposes potential solutions. A set of overhead metrics of using DDS in a distributed partitioned platform is also provided.