Douglas R. Shier

Department of Mathematical Sciences

Clemson University

Clemson, SC 29634-0975

Abstract: System reliability involves the study of the overall performance of systems of interconnected components. Examples of such systems are communication, transportation, and electrical power distribution systems, as well as computer networks. This section discusses general concepts and results for system reliability, with emphasis on the reliability of coherent systems. Both general solution approaches (state-space enumeration, inclusion-exclusion, disjoint products, factoring) and specialized algorithms for calculating reliability are surveyed.

Key Words: k-out-of-n system, network reliability, reliability, structure function