DEVS distributed parallel architecture for enterprise simulation

Abstract

Model based systems engineering allows engineers to manage complexity with graphical models. Efforts within the U.S. Department of Defense to date have been successful in linking the systems architecture to a suite of executable component and cost models. This is effective in analyzing component performance. However, it is also possible to integrate these component models in a distributed simulation architecture, capturing internal interactions in order to directly analyze system-level performance. Most simulations poorly expose their data and sub-models to external interfaces. Their overhead significantly complicates integration. This paper proposes integration by casting off the simulation execution machinery of the component simulations and simply integrating their internal models as Discrete Event Systems Specification (DEVS) models. An execution engine enables integration of models in different languages via message-based distributed and parallel execution of the simulation across a network. Computing technologies to include the actor model of computation, reactive systems, and time-warp parallel discrete event simulation enable this approach. Initial development and testing has been done for a soldier-level situation awareness model.