Practical applications of probabilistic model checking to communication protocols

Probabilistic model checking is a formal verification technique for the analysis of systems that exhibit stochastic behaviour. It has been successfully employed in an extremely wide array of application domains including, for example, communication and multimedia protocols, security and power management. In this chapter we focus on the applicability of these techniques to the analysis of communication protocols. An analysis of the performance of such systems must successfully incorporate several crucial aspects, including concurrency between multiple components, real-time constraints and randomisation. Probabilistic model checking, in particular using probabilistic timed automata, is well suited to such an analysis. We provide an overview of this area, with emphasis on an industrially relevant case study: the IEEE 802.3 (CSMA/CD) protocol. We also discuss two contrasting approaches to the implementation of probabilistic model checking, namely those based on numerical computation and those based on discrete-event simulation. Using results from the two tools PRISM and APMC, we summarise the advantages, disadvantages and trade-offs associated with these techniques

Characterization of communication channels in terms of traffic and network architecture: a review

Software tools face accessibility and availability limitations in monitoring and industrial control processes when communications are affected by long distances. Likewise, real-time answers and stability are also limited by the traffic conditions in LAN network. Ethernet networks are widely-used in industrial communications due to high performance in multiswitch configuration. However, they are not the most appropriate solution for real-time applications, given the difficulty in measuring response times in data transmission, and even more so when the network topologies are different and traffic levels are permanently varying. This paper presents a review of the characterization of communication channels in terms of traffic and network architecture,  identifying  unexplored  areas  and  promoting  new alternatives that may be easily adopted by the industrial sector.  In  conclusion,  a  technique  integrated  by  architecture  and  traffic  characteristics  in  network  analysis may  performance  in  heterogeneous  systems  for  industrial applications via web.Las herramientas de software presentan limitaciones de acceso y disponibilidad en los procesos de monitoreo y control industrial, cuando las comunicaciones son afectadas por grandes distancias. Asimismo, las respuestas en tiempo real y la estabilidad también son limitadas por las condiciones de tráfico en redes LAN. Es conocido que las redes Ethernet son ampliamente usadas en comunicaciones industriales por su alto rendimiento en configuraciones de switches. Sin embargo, no han sido la solución adecuada para aplicaciones en tiempo real, dado el inconveniente de medir el tiempo de respuesta en la transmisión de datos, y más aún, cuando las topologías de las redes son diferentes y los niveles de tráfico varían permanentemente. En este artículo, se presenta una revisión del estado del arte sobre la caracterización de canales de comunicación en términos de tráfico y arquitectura de la red, donde se determinan campos que aún quedan abiertos en esta área del conocimiento, y se inquieta hacia nuevas alternativas que puedan ser fácilmente adoptables por el sector industrial. Como conclusión, se establece que una técnica integrada por la arquitectura y las características del tráfico en el análisis de redes mejora las perspectivas de rendimiento en sistemas heterogéneos para aplicaciones industriales vía web

Performability of Integrated Networked Control Systems

A direct sensor to actuator communication model (S2A) for unmodified Ethernet-based Networked Control Systems (NCSs) is presented in this research. A comparison is made between the S2A model and a previously introduced model including an in-loop controller node. OMNET simulations showed the success of the S2A model in meeting system delay with strict zero packet loss (with no over-delayed packets) requirements. The S2A model also showed a reduction in the end-to-end delay of control packets from sensor nodes to actuator nodes in both Fast and Gigabit switched Ethernet-Based. Another major improvement for the S2A model is accommodating the increase in the amount of additional load compared to the in-loop model. Two different controller-level fault-tolerant models for Ethernet-based Networked Control Systems (NCSs) are also presented in this research. These models are studied using unmodified Fast and Gigabit Ethernet. The first is an in-loop fault-tolerant controller model while the second is a fault-tolerant direct Sensor to Actuator (S2A) model. Both models were shown via OMNeT++ simulations to succeed in meeting system end-to-end delay with strict zero packet loss (with no over-delayed packets) requirements. Although, it was shown that the S2A model has a lower end-to-end delay than the in-loop controller model, the fault-tolerant in-loop model performs better than the fault-tolerant S2A model in terms of less total end-to-end delay in the fault-free situation. While, on the other hand, in the scenario with the failed controller(s), the S2A model was shown to have less total end-to-end delay. Performability analysis between the two fault-tolerant models is studied and compared using fast Ethernet links relating controller failure with reward, depending on the system state. Meeting control system\u27s deadline is essential in Networked Control Systems and failing to meet this deadline represents a failure of the system. Therefore, the reward is considered to be how far is the total end-to-end delay in each state in each model from the system deadline. A case study is presented that simultaneously investigates the failure on the controller level with reward

A study of simulation performance based on event orderings

Master'sMASTER OF SCIENC

Efficient and Accurate Ethernet Simulation

The Internet is inc reasingly beingc alled upon to provide di#erent levels of servic e to di#erent applic ations and users. A prac tic al problem in doing so is that although Ethernet is one of the hops for nearly all c ommunic ation in the Internet, it does not provide any QoS guarantees. A natural question, therefore, is the e#ec t of o#ered load on Ethernet throughput and delay. In this paper, we present several tec hniques for ac c urately and e#c iently modeling the behavior of a heavily loaded Ethernet link. We first present a distributed approac h to exac t simulation of Ethernet, whic h greatly simplifiesc ollision detec tion. Then, we desc ribe an e#c ient distributed simulation model,c alled Fast Ethernet Simulation, that empiric ally models an Ethernet link to quic kly and ac c urately simulate it. By eliminating the implementation of CSMA/CD protoc ol, our approac h reduc esc omputationalc omplexity drastic ally while still maintaining desirable ac c urac y. Performanc e results show that our tec hniques not only add very little overhead (less than 5% in our tests) to the basic cs of simulating an Ethernet link, but also c osely matc h real-world measurements. We also presente#c ent tec hniques forc ompressingc umulative distributions using hyperbolic c urves and for monitoring the load on a heavily-loaded link.