JSE_V5_N2_RP7 R. Chinnaiyan S. Somasundaram Journal on Software Engineering 2230 – 7168 5 2 44 49 Markov Model, Reliability, Software Components, Component Based Software System This paper proposes a new approach using Markov model for analyzing the reliability of component based software system with similar software components and similar repair component. The components of the software system under consideration have two distinct configurations, namely, they can be arranged in either series or in parallel. A third case is also considered, in which the software system is up (good) if k-out-of- n software components are good. For all the three cases, a procedure is proposed for calculating the probability of the software system availability and the duration of the software system to reach the steady state. October - December 2010 Copyright © 2010 i-manager publications. All rights reserved. i-manager Publications http://www.imanagerpublications.com/Article.aspx?ArticleId=1335