Computer Simulation Approach

By Dereje Shiferaw

Contents
Models experiments and computers System, system entity and system state Models and model classification Simulation as experimentation Why simulation? When is simulation an appropriate tool Field of applications Key phases in computer simulation Discrete and continuous simulations Computing: data driven software and Bespoke program Experimentation: Interactive experiment and classical experiment

INTRODUCTION
Simulation
Definition:
is a numerical technique for conducting experiments on a digital computer, which involves certain types of mathematical and logical models over extended period of real time.

System simulation
Definition: The technique of solving problems by the observation of the
performance ,over time, of the dynamic model of the system. It is an experiment of physical scenario on computer. Consider a situation where an expert has to decide how many and what type of network or support resources to have available Model the system and study its performance before actually setting the system Analyze system Make operation or resource policy decisions

Technical Attractions of Simulation

Ability to compress time, expand time
Simulation time: Physical Time: representation of physical time time in physical system

Ability to control sources of variation Avoids errors in measurement Ability to stop and review Ability to restore system state Facilitates replication Modeler can control level of detail

Ways To Study A System

Models, experiments and computers

Model
Meaning

representation of construction and working of system, it is similar to but simpler than the system it represents Purpose to enable the analyst to predict the effect of changes to the system Good model close approximation to the real system incorporate most of its salient features Not so complex judicious tradeoff between realism and simplicity Experiment Running a given model of a system. time taken for the actual system and the model may not be the same Computer All models are either mathematical or software and will be executed on a computer. Hence the computer is the means for conducting experiments on the model

System, system entity and system state

System
A system is defined as a collection of interacting components that receives input and provides output for some purpose

System entity
Is something (customer, objects etc) that changes the state of a system It is one basic component of a simulation model

System state
is a set of data that captures the salient variables of the system allows us to describe system evolution over time is stored in one or more program variables that represent various data structures (e.g., the number of customers in a queue, or their exact sequence in the queue). State definition depends on the modeling needs, particularly statistics to be collected

Models and model classification

A model intended for simulation study can be
A physical model simplified or scaled down physical object
Example: Scaled model of an airplane

Mathematical or analytical model a set of equations or relations among mathematical variables. The mathematical model can be deterministic or stochastic, static or dynamic
Example: Mathematical model of a factory workflow

Computer model a program description of the system . A computer model with random elements and an underlying time element is known as Monte Carlo simulation model
Example : period of The operation of a manufacturing unit over a time

Simulation as experimentation
A simulation of a system is the operation of a model of the system tool to evaluate the performance of a system, existing or proposed, under different configurations of interest and over long periods of real time The model can be reconfigured and experimented with Used to test condition which is impossible, too expensive or impractical to do in the system it represents Example: desert battle simulation - one force invading another, - 10 years ago - 66,239 tanks, trucks and other vehicles - Kuwait, - multiple supercomputers

 Simulation experiment is a test or series of tests in which meaningful changes are made to the input variables From simulation experiment The operation of the model can be studied, Properties concerning the behavior of the actual system or its subsystem can be inferred.

Examples:
- 1-billion-atom model of material deformation - a 2.64-million-atom model of the complex maker of protein in all organisms, a ribosome - the Blue Brain project at EPFL (Switzerland) 2005

Why is simulation?
Answer questions like: What is the best design for a new telecommunications network?

What are the associated resource requirements?

How will a telecommunication network perform when the traffic load increases by 50%? How will a new routing algorithm affect its performance? Which network protocol optimizes network performance? What will be the impact of a link failure?

 Gaining insight into the system operation Developing operation or resource policy to improve system performance
Deciding the type and size of network and resource to be used

Testing new concepts and/or systems before implementation

Testing an appropriate Time to leave for a TCP/IP packet in a wireless sensor network for energy optimization Testing the effectiveness of a DdoS prevention mechanism

Gaining information without disturbing the system

Analysis of security of a given network or Internet

When is simulation appropriate tool?

A simulation model is implemented in a computer program. Compared to analytical modelling, it is relatively in expensive. It is preferred to analytical modelling when:
When analytical model with tractable solution is unknown When underlying model is complex When driving analytical model is difficult or finding analytical solution is difficult or time consuming or when it is difficult to capture necessary details using mathematical model

Field of applications
Production system, inventory systems, Manufacturing process. Material handling and logistics Estimate a set of productivity measures Computer systems and communication networks Design and planning of capacity so as to minimize response time Military Business process reengineering activities Health care operations, financial and banking operation, transportation and air ports Improving performance

Key phases in computer simulation

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Model development Experiment design Output analysis Conclusion formulation Making decision to alter system under study

1. Simulation Model development

Modeling is the most important part of a simulation study. It is determining factor A simulation model consists of
System entities Input variables Performance measures Functional relationships

Example: Simulation of a single server system

For the above system Server and queue are system entities Arrival rate and service rate are input variables Mean wait time and maximum queue length are performance measures Time in system is functional relationship

time _ in _ system wait _ time service_ time

Steps in model building

Identify the problem List problems of existing system Produce requirements for proposed system Formulate the problem Identify bounds, end user Define objectives and performance measure Collect and process real system data Collect data on system spec, input variables and performance of existing system Identify sources of randomness and select appropriate probability distribution for each random input (exp, poison, normal etc)

Steps cont
Formulate and develop a model Develop schematic and network diagrams, translate to programs Validate and verify the model Verify check if model is correct to specifications Validate- check if model output agree with real system Document model for future use

2. Experiment design
A simulation model is a test or series of tests in which meaningful changes are made to the inputs so that we may observe and identify the reasons for changes in performance measures What data need to be obtained, in what form and how much Steps
A) select appropriate experimental design
Select performance measure, key inputs and their range

B) Establish experimental conditions for runs

Starting conditions, length of run, number of independent runs,

C) perform simulation runs Example: Simulation study of DDoS attack detection algorithm - model traffic and network - design experiment

3. Output analysis
Interpret and present results Identify best design among competing alternatives This can be using statistical inference Recommend further course of actions Use the results and analysis to write recommendations A formal written report

Discrete and continuous simulations

Discrete simulation
state trajectory is piecewise constant function whose jumps are triggered by discrete events. Simulation state remains unchanged unless a simulation even occurs When an event occur, the model undergoes a state transition The model evolution is governed by a clock and a chronologically ordered event list.

Continuous simulation
Simulation where the system state is continuous over time Is used to model fluid flows, aircraft dynamics etc Based on mathematical model of system Model is digitized and simulated using program

Computing: data driven software and Bespoke program

Data driven software
Data is the major aspect of system Design based on end results and inputs rather than objects which are behaviors

Bespoke program
Custom or tailor made programs used for specific application Easy to use, has fewer errors, increase productivity and unique out of competitors

Experimentation: Interactive experiment and classical experiment

Simulation experiments are interactive experiments
Experiments can be repeated any number of times with various inputs and parameters

Classical experiments are hard ware based or use physical objects

are costly and take longer time