Once-and-for all management protocol (OFMP)

OFMP is a hierarchical, network management protocol that enables group operations to be executed on the management information bases of all nodes in the group. As long as no faults occur, OFMP ensures that all nodes execute their local operation exactly once in each group operation. If \immediately-detectable" faults occur, it ensures masking fault-tolerance; i.e., all non-failed nodes execute their local operation exactly once in each group operation. And, if \eventually-detectable" faults occur, it ensures stabilizing fault-tolerance; i.e., it eventually converges to a state from where all non-failed nodes execute their local operation exactly once in each subsequent group operation. Of special note is the ability of OFMP to detect using only a bounded amount of memory whether nodes have executed in same group operation, in a manner that masks immediately-detectable faults and stabilizes from eventually-detectable faults.