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Failure Handling Model Specification

Document Type: Normative System Specification
Scope: Sensor Hub (Sub-Hub) Fault Detection, Classification, and Recovery
Traceability: SR-DIAG-001 through SR-DIAG-011, SR-SYS-002, SR-SYS-004

1. Purpose

This document defines the fault taxonomy, escalation rules, recovery behaviors, and integration with the system state machine. All components SHALL adhere to this failure handling model.

2. Fault Taxonomy

2.1 Severity Levels

Severity	Code	Description	State Impact	Recovery Behavior
INFO	`DIAG_SEV_INFO`	Informational event, no action required	None	Log only
WARNING	`DIAG_SEV_WARNING`	Non-critical fault, degraded operation	`RUNNING` → `WARNING`	Continue with reduced functionality
ERROR	`DIAG_SEV_ERROR`	Critical fault, feature disabled	Feature-specific	Feature isolation, retry logic
FATAL	`DIAG_SEV_FATAL`	System-critical fault, core functionality disabled	`RUNNING` → `FAULT`	Controlled teardown, recovery attempt

2.2 Fault Categories

Category	Description	Examples	Typical Severity
SENSOR	Sensor hardware or communication failure	Disconnection, out-of-range, non-responsive	WARNING (single), ERROR (multiple), FATAL (all)
COMMUNICATION	Network or protocol failure	Link loss, timeout, authentication failure	WARNING (temporary), ERROR (persistent), FATAL (critical)
STORAGE	Persistence or storage medium failure	SD card failure, NVM corruption, write failure	WARNING (degraded), ERROR (persistent), FATAL (critical)
SECURITY	Security violation or authentication failure	Secure boot failure, key corruption, unauthorized access	FATAL (always)
SYSTEM	System resource or configuration failure	Memory exhaustion, task failure, configuration error	ERROR (recoverable), FATAL (unrecoverable)
OTA	Firmware update failure	Validation failure, transfer error, flash error	ERROR (retry), FATAL (rollback)
CALIBRATION	Calibration or machine constants failure	Invalid MC, calibration error, sensor mismatch	WARNING (single), ERROR (critical)

3. Diagnostic Code Structure

3.1 Diagnostic Code Format

DIAG-<CATEGORY>-<COMPONENT>-<NUMBER>

CATEGORY: Two-letter code (SN, CM, ST, SC, SY, OT, CL)
COMPONENT: Component identifier (e.g., TEMP, HUM, CO2, NET, SD, OTA)
NUMBER: Unique fault number (0001-9999)

3.2 Diagnostic Code Registry

Code	Severity	Category	Component	Description
`DIAG-SN-TEMP-0001`	WARNING	SENSOR	Temperature	Temperature sensor disconnected
`DIAG-SN-TEMP-0002`	ERROR	SENSOR	Temperature	Temperature sensor out of range
`DIAG-SN-TEMP-0003`	FATAL	SENSOR	Temperature	All temperature sensors failed
`DIAG-CM-NET-0001`	WARNING	COMMUNICATION	Network	Main Hub link temporarily lost
`DIAG-CM-NET-0002`	ERROR	COMMUNICATION	Network	Main Hub link persistently lost
`DIAG-ST-SD-0001`	WARNING	STORAGE	SD Card	SD card write failure (retry successful)
`DIAG-ST-SD-0002`	ERROR	STORAGE	SD Card	SD card persistent write failure
`DIAG-ST-SD-0003`	FATAL	STORAGE	SD Card	SD card corruption detected
`DIAG-SC-BOOT-0001`	FATAL	SECURITY	Secure Boot	Secure boot verification failed
`DIAG-SY-MEM-0001`	ERROR	SYSTEM	Memory	Memory allocation failure
`DIAG-OT-FW-0001`	ERROR	OTA	Firmware	Firmware integrity validation failed
`DIAG-CL-MC-0001`	WARNING	CALIBRATION	Machine Constants	Invalid sensor slot configuration

4. Fault Detection Rules

4.1 Sensor Fault Detection

Condition	Detection Method	Severity Assignment
Sensor disconnected	Hardware presence signal	WARNING (if other sensors available)
Sensor non-responsive	Communication timeout (3 retries)	ERROR (if critical sensor)
Sensor out of range	Value validation against limits	WARNING (if single occurrence), ERROR (if persistent)
All sensors failed	Count of failed sensors = total	FATAL

4.2 Communication Fault Detection

Condition	Detection Method	Severity Assignment
Link temporarily lost	Heartbeat timeout (< 30s)	WARNING
Link persistently lost	Heartbeat timeout (> 5 minutes)	ERROR
Authentication failure	Security layer rejection	FATAL
Protocol error	Message parsing failure (3 consecutive)	ERROR

4.3 Storage Fault Detection

Condition	Detection Method	Severity Assignment
Write failure (retry successful)	Write operation with retry	WARNING
Write failure (persistent)	Write operation failure (3 retries)	ERROR
SD card corruption	File system check failure	FATAL
Storage full	Available space < threshold	WARNING

4.4 Security Fault Detection

Condition	Detection Method	Severity Assignment
Secure boot failure	Boot verification failure	FATAL (always)
Key corruption	Cryptographic key validation failure	FATAL
Unauthorized access	Authentication failure (3 attempts)	FATAL
Message tampering	Integrity check failure	ERROR (if persistent → FATAL)

5. Escalation Rules

5.1 Severity Escalation

Current Severity	Escalation Trigger	New Severity	State Transition
INFO	N/A	N/A	None
WARNING	Same fault persists > 5 minutes	ERROR	`WARNING` → `WARNING` (feature degraded)
WARNING	Multiple warnings (≥3)	ERROR	`WARNING` → `WARNING` (feature degraded)
WARNING	Critical feature affected	FATAL	`WARNING` → `FAULT`
ERROR	Same fault persists > 10 minutes	FATAL	`RUNNING` → `FAULT`
ERROR	Cascading failures (≥2 features)	FATAL	`RUNNING` → `FAULT`
FATAL	N/A	N/A	`RUNNING` → `FAULT`

5.2 Cascading Failure Detection

A cascading failure is detected when:

Multiple independent features fail simultaneously
Failure in one feature causes failure in another
System resource exhaustion (memory, CPU, storage)

Response: Immediate escalation to FATAL, transition to FAULT state.

6. Recovery Behaviors

6.1 Recovery Strategies by Severity

Severity	Recovery Strategy	Retry Logic	State Impact
INFO	None	N/A	None
WARNING	Automatic retry, degraded operation	3 retries with exponential backoff	Continue in `WARNING` state
ERROR	Feature isolation, automatic retry	3 retries, then manual intervention	Feature disabled, system continues
FATAL	Controlled teardown, recovery attempt	Single recovery attempt, then manual	`FAULT` → `TEARDOWN` → `INIT`

6.2 Recovery Time Limits

Fault Type	Maximum Recovery Time	Recovery Action
Sensor (WARNING)	5 minutes	Automatic retry, sensor exclusion
Communication (WARNING)	30 seconds	Automatic reconnection
Storage (WARNING)	10 seconds	Retry write operation
Sensor (ERROR)	Manual intervention	Sensor marked as failed
Communication (ERROR)	Manual intervention	Communication feature disabled
Storage (ERROR)	Manual intervention	Persistence disabled, system continues
FATAL (any)	60 seconds	Controlled teardown and recovery attempt

6.3 Latching Behavior

Severity	Latching Rule	Clear Condition
INFO	Not latched	Overwritten by new event
WARNING	Latched until cleared	Fault condition cleared + manual clear OR automatic clear after 1 hour
ERROR	Latched until cleared	Manual clear via diagnostic session OR system reset
FATAL	Latched until cleared	Manual clear via diagnostic session OR system reset

7. Fault Reporting

7.1 Reporting Channels

Severity	Local HMI	Diagnostic Log	Main Hub	Diagnostic Session
INFO	Optional	Yes	No	Yes
WARNING	Yes (status indicator)	Yes	Yes (periodic)	Yes
ERROR	Yes (status indicator)	Yes	Yes (immediate)	Yes
FATAL	Yes (status indicator)	Yes	Yes (immediate)	Yes

7.2 Diagnostic Event Structure

typedef struct {
    uint32_t diagnostic_code;      // Unique diagnostic code
    diag_severity_t severity;      // INFO, WARNING, ERROR, FATAL
    uint64_t timestamp;              // System timestamp (microseconds)
    const char* source_component;   // Component identifier
    uint32_t occurrence_count;     // Number of occurrences
    bool is_latched;                // Latching status
    fault_category_t category;      // SENSOR, COMMUNICATION, etc.
} diagnostic_event_t;

8. Integration with State Machine

8.1 Fault-to-State Mapping

Fault Severity	Current State	Target State	Transition Trigger
INFO	Any	Same	None (no state change)
WARNING	`RUNNING`	`WARNING`	First WARNING fault
WARNING	`WARNING`	`WARNING`	Additional WARNING (latched)
ERROR	`RUNNING`	`RUNNING`	Feature isolation, continue
ERROR	`WARNING`	`WARNING`	Feature isolation, continue
FATAL	`RUNNING`	`FAULT`	First FATAL fault
FATAL	`WARNING`	`FAULT`	Escalation to FATAL
FATAL	`FAULT`	`FAULT`	Additional FATAL (latched)

8.2 State-Dependent Fault Handling

State	Fault Handling Behavior
`INIT`	Boot-time faults → `BOOT_FAILURE` if security-related
`RUNNING`	Full fault detection and handling
`WARNING`	Fault escalation monitoring, recovery attempts
`FAULT`	Fault logging only, recovery attempt preparation
`OTA_PREP`	OTA-related faults only, others deferred
`OTA_UPDATE`	OTA progress faults only
`TEARDOWN`	Fault logging only, no new fault detection
`SERVICE`	Fault inspection only, no new fault detection

9. Error Handler Responsibilities

The Error Handler component SHALL:

Receive fault reports from all components
Classify faults according to taxonomy
Determine severity and escalation
Trigger state transitions when required
Manage fault latching and clearing
Coordinate recovery attempts
Report faults to diagnostics and Main Hub

10. Traceability

SR-DIAG-001: Implemented via diagnostic code framework
SR-DIAG-002: Implemented via unique diagnostic code assignment
SR-DIAG-003: Implemented via severity classification
SR-DIAG-004: Implemented via timestamp and source association
SR-SYS-002: Implemented via fault-to-state mapping
SR-SYS-004: Implemented via FATAL fault → TEARDOWN transition

11. Mermaid Fault Escalation Diagram

flowchart TD
    FaultDetected[Fault Detected] --> ClassifySeverity{Classify Severity}
    ClassifySeverity -->|INFO| LogOnly[Log Only]
    ClassifySeverity -->|WARNING| CheckState1{Current State?}
    ClassifySeverity -->|ERROR| IsolateFeature[Isolate Feature]
    ClassifySeverity -->|FATAL| TriggerFaultState[Trigger FAULT State]
    
    CheckState1 -->|RUNNING| TransitionWarning[Transition to WARNING]
    CheckState1 -->|WARNING| LatchWarning[Latch Warning]
    
    IsolateFeature --> RetryLogic{Retry Logic}
    RetryLogic -->|Success| ClearError[Clear Error]
    RetryLogic -->|Failure| EscalateToFatal{Escalate?}
    EscalateToFatal -->|Yes| TriggerFaultState
    EscalateToFatal -->|No| ManualIntervention[Manual Intervention]
    
    TriggerFaultState --> TeardownSequence[Initiate Teardown]
    TeardownSequence --> RecoveryAttempt{Recovery Attempt}
    RecoveryAttempt -->|Success| ResetToInit[Reset to INIT]
    RecoveryAttempt -->|Failure| ManualIntervention

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