Detailed review of:

Optimal Reliability Modeling: Principles and Applications

1. Introduction (4 pages)
2. Reliability Mathematics (57 pages)
3. Complexity Analysis (23 pages)
4. Fundamental System Reliability Models (55 pages)
5. General Methods for System Reliability Evaluation (48 pages)
6. General Methodology for System Design (43 pages)
7. The k-out-of-n System Model (50 pages)
8. Design of k-out-of-n Systems (44 pages)
9. Consecutive k-out-of-n Systems (59 pages)
10. Multidimensional Consecutive k-out-of-n Systems (59 pages)
11. Other k-out-of-n Consecutive Models (51 pages)
12. Multistate System Models (52 pages)

• Appendix (9 pages)
• References and Bibliography (26 pages)
• Index (6 pages)

This book is a welcome addition to several well-written books on the subject of system reliability, evaluation,

and optimization during the past four decades. It comes to us from authors who have extensively researched and made outstanding contributions to the subject matter included in this volume. One striking and important feature of the book is that it deals with state-of-the-art information on system reliability modeling and evaluation, as well as system design — both together in just one volume. Therefore, a reader who would like to learn more about the subject of system reliability evaluation and design need not consult several sources to obtain the requisite information. The reviewer who himself has experience of working in the area of system reliability evaluation and optimal design well over three decades has not seen a book with such a wide coverage. Although this compact book may not be complete in every way, a comprehensive listing of some 263 references and 244 entries in the bibliography provide up-to-date information on what has been written on the subject to date.

The treatment of k-out-of-n systems in this book is very thorough. It includes k-out-of-n systems with and without repairs, along with their variants, such as Consecutive k-out-of-n systems, multidimensional Consecutive k-out-of-n systems, Linear and Circular m-Consecutive k-out-of-n systems, k-within-Consecutive k-out-of-n systems, etc. In fact, five out of the twelve chapters of this 221 page book deal with the subject of analysis and design of k-out-of-n systems and their variants.

Additional special features of the book, in the opinion of the reviewer that must be highlighted include:

• the chapter on Complexity Analysis ( surely a system analyst should know while selecting a particular algorithm for system reliability evaluation),
• and a thorough coverage of multistate reliability modeling, which usually does not find adequate coverage in most of the books written on the subject..

A compact book such as this one, however, is bound to have its limitations in terms of the extent to which all recent and interesting approaches are dealt with, and these are felt in its less-than-thorough coverage of topics like load-sharing models, and multiple-inversion techniques used for obtaining a compact system reliability e_x_p_r+e_s_s_i_o_n, design of maintained systems, etc.

Overall, however, this reviewer has absolutely no hesitation in recommending this book to all serious minded researchers, practitioners, teachers, and graduate students who would like have the most up-to-date information on the subject of system reliability modeling and optimal design.

Krishna B. Misra

Review published in the International Journal of Performability Engineering, Vol. 2, No. 4, October 2004, p. 330.