IEEE CS Technical Committee on Dependable Computing and Fault Tolerance

2.1 Provide a forum for exchange of ideas among interested practitioners, researchers, developers, maintainers, users and students in the technical field. The goal is to promote the identification and integration of approaches, methods, and techniques for specifying, designing, building, assessing, validating, operating, and maintaining computer systems in which faults are considered as natural, anticipated events, and thus, can be tolerated. A wide variety of faults are considered, including accidental faults (physical, design-induced, or originating from human interaction) and intentional faults. Specifically, the TC is concerned with progress in:

(i) the understanding of faults and their effects,
(ii) specification and design methods for fault-tolerant computing,
(iii) validation, and design for testability and verifiability, and
(iv) assessment, through modeling and measurement, of dependability achieved.

In these ways, the TC hopes to play a crucial role in minimizing the risks that the increasingly sophisticated computing and communications systems might cause for society.

2.2 Promote and facilitate the sharing of ideas, techniques, standards, and experiences between TC members for more effective use of technology.

2.3 Conduct workshops, conferences, and other meetings to advance both the state-of-the-art and the state-of-the-practice in the technical area. This includes sponsoring the International Conference on Dependable Systems and Networks (DSN), the annual flagship activity of this TC, sponsoring annual workshops focusing on various aspects of fault-tolerant computing, and co-sponsoring relevant conferences organized by the IEEE Computer Society, the International Federation of Information Processing, and the Council of European Professional Informatics Societies.

2.4 Publish and distribute among its members, and other IEEE-CS parties, newsletters, proceedings, standards proposals, and other appropriate material on a non-profit basis. Publish an electronic newsletter containing meeting reports, calls for papers, and news announcements.

2.5 Provide professional development opportunities for members in the technical area and related technologies.

2.6 Foster other activities for the advancement of the field and the interests of the TC membership within the scope of the TC's charge under the rules of the IEEE-CS, including cooperating with other groups in joint activities and projects.