Hybrid performance modelling of opportunistic networks

We demonstrate the modelling of opportunistic networks using the process algebra stochastic HYPE. Network traffic is modelled as continuous flows, contact between nodes in the network is modelled stochastically, and instantaneous decisions are modelled as discrete events. Our model describes a network of stationary video sensors with a mobile ferry which collects data from the sensors and delivers it to the base station. We consider different mobility models and different buffer sizes for the ferries. This case study illustrates the flexibility and expressive power of stochastic HYPE. We also discuss the software that enables us to describe stochastic HYPE models and simulate them.Comment: In Proceedings QAPL 2012, arXiv:1207.055

Design of testbed and emulation tools

The research summarized was concerned with the design of testbed and emulation tools suitable to assist in projecting, with reasonable accuracy, the expected performance of highly concurrent computing systems on large, complete applications. Such testbed and emulation tools are intended for the eventual use of those exploring new concurrent system architectures and organizations, either as users or as designers of such systems. While a range of alternatives was considered, a software based set of hierarchical tools was chosen to provide maximum flexibility, to ease in moving to new computers as technology improves and to take advantage of the inherent reliability and availability of commercially available computing systems

Controlling delay differentiation with priority jumps: analytical study

Supporting different services with different Quality of Service (QoS) requirements is not an easy task in modern telecommunication systems: an efficient priority scheduling discipline is of great importance. Fixed or static priority achieves maximal delay differentiation between different types of traffic, but may have a too severe impact on the performance of lower-priority traffic. In this paper, we propose a priority scheduling discipline with priority jumps to control the delay differentiation. In this scheduling discipline, packets can be promoted to a higher priority level in the course of time. We use probability generating functions to study the queueing system analytically. Some interesting mathematical challenges thereby arise. With some numerical examples, we finally show the impact of the priority jumps and of the system parameters

A Markov chain model for drop ratio on one-packet buffers DTNs

Most of the efforts to characterize DTN routing are focused on the trade-off between delivery ratio and delay. Buffer occupancy is usually not considered a problem and most of the related work assumes infinite buffers. In the present work, we focus on the drop ratio for message forwarding considering finite buffers. We model message drops with a continuous time Markov chain (CTMC). To the best of our knowledge, there is no previous work with such approach. We focus on the worst case with 1-packet buffers for message forwarding in homogeneous inter-contact times (ICT) and 2-class heterogeneous ICT. Our main contribution is to link the encounter rate(s) with the drop ratio. We show that the modeled drop ratio fits simulation results obtained with synthetic traces for both cases

Performance and Security Trade-offs in High-Speed Networks. An investigation into the performance and security modelling and evaluation of high-speed networks based on the quantitative analysis and experimentation of queueing networks and generalised stochastic Petri nets.

Most used security mechanisms in high-speed networks have been adopted without adequate quantification of their impact on performance degradation. Appropriate quantitative network models may be employed for the evaluation and prediction of ¿optimal¿ performance vs. security trade-offs. Several quantitative models introduced in the literature are based on queueing networks (QNs) and generalised stochastic Petri nets (GSPNs). However, these models do not take into consideration Performance Engineering Principles (PEPs) and the adverse impact of traffic burstiness and security protocols on performance. The contributions of this thesis are based on the development of an effective quantitative methodology for the analysis of arbitrary QN models and GSPNs through discrete-event simulation (DES) and extended applications into performance vs. security trade-offs involving infrastructure and infrastructure-less high-speed networks under bursty traffic conditions. Specifically, investigations are carried out focusing, for illustration purposes, on high-speed network routers subject to Access Control List (ACL) and also Robotic Ad Hoc Networks (RANETs) with Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) and Selective Security (SS) protocols, respectively. The Generalised Exponential (GE) distribution is used to model inter-arrival and service times at each node in order to capture the traffic burstiness of the network and predict pessimistic ¿upper bounds¿ of network performance. In the context of a router with ACL mechanism representing an infrastructure network node, performance degradation is caused due to high-speed incoming traffic in conjunction with ACL security computations making the router a bottleneck in the network. To quantify and predict the trade-off of this degradation, the proposed quantitative methodology employs a suitable QN model consisting of two queues connected in a tandem configuration. These queues have single or quad-core CPUs with multiple-classes and correspond to a security processing node and a transmission forwarding node. First-Come-First-Served (FCFS) and Head-of-the-Line (HoL) are the adopted service disciplines together with Complete Buffer Sharing (CBS) and Partial Buffer Sharing (PBS) buffer management schemes. The mean response time and packet loss probability at each queue are employed as typical performance metrics. Numerical experiments are carried out, based on DES, in order to establish a balanced trade-off between security and performance towards the design and development of efficient router architectures under bursty traffic conditions. The proposed methodology is also applied into the evaluation of performance vs. security trade-offs of robotic ad hoc networks (RANETs) with mobility subject to Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) and Selective Security (SS) protocols. WEP protocol is engaged to provide confidentiality and integrity to exchanged data amongst robotic nodes of a RANET and thus, to prevent data capturing by unauthorised users. WEP security mechanisms in RANETs, as infrastructure-less networks, are performed at each individual robotic node subject to traffic burstiness as well as nodal mobility. In this context, the proposed quantitative methodology is extended to incorporate an open QN model of a RANET with Gated queues (G-Queues), arbitrary topology and multiple classes of data packets with FCFS and HoL disciplines under bursty arrival traffic flows characterised by an Interrupted Compound Poisson Process (ICPP). SS is included in the Gated-QN (G-QN) model in order to establish an ¿optimal¿ performance vs. security trade-off. For this purpose, PEPs, such as the provision of multiple classes with HoL priorities and the availability of dual CPUs, are complemented by the inclusion of robot¿s mobility, enabling realistic decisions in mitigating the performance of mobile robotic nodes in the presence of security. The mean marginal end-to-end delay was adopted as the performance metric that gives indication on the security improvement. The proposed quantitative methodology is further enhanced by formulating an advanced hybrid framework for capturing ¿optimal¿ performance vs. security trade-offs for each node of a RANET by taking more explicitly into consideration security control and battery life. Specifically, each robotic node is represented by a hybrid Gated GSPN (G-GSPN) and a QN model. In this context, the G-GSPN incorporates bursty multiple class traffic flows, nodal mobility, security processing and control whilst the QN model has, generally, an arbitrary configuration with finite capacity channel queues reflecting ¿intra¿-robot (component-to-component) communication and ¿inter¿-robot transmissions. Two theoretical case studies from the literature are adapted to illustrate the utility of the QN towards modelling ¿intra¿ and ¿inter¿ robot communications. Extensions of the combined performance and security metrics (CPSMs) proposed in the literature are suggested to facilitate investigating and optimising RANET¿s performance vs. security trade-offs. This framework has a promising potential modelling more meaningfully and explicitly the behaviour of security processing and control mechanisms as well as capturing the robot¿s heterogeneity (in terms of the robot architecture and application/task context) in the near future (c.f. [1]. Moreover, this framework should enable testing robot¿s configurations during design and development stages of RANETs as well as modifying and tuning existing configurations of RANETs towards enhanced ¿optimal¿ performance and security trade-offs.Ministry of Higher Education in Libya and the Libyan Cultural Attaché bureau in Londo

Perfomance Analysis and Resource Optimisation of Critical Systems Modelled by Petri Nets

Un sistema crítico debe cumplir con su misión a pesar de la presencia de problemas de seguridad. Este tipo de sistemas se suele desplegar en entornos heterogéneos, donde pueden ser objeto de intentos de intrusión, robo de información confidencial u otro tipo de ataques. Los sistemas, en general, tienen que ser rediseñados después de que ocurra un incidente de seguridad, lo que puede conducir a consecuencias graves, como el enorme costo de reimplementar o reprogramar todo el sistema, así como las posibles pérdidas económicas. Así, la seguridad ha de ser concebida como una parte integral del desarrollo de sistemas y como una necesidad singular de lo que el sistema debe realizar (es decir, un requisito no funcional del sistema). Así pues, al diseñar sistemas críticos es fundamental estudiar los ataques que se pueden producir y planificar cómo reaccionar frente a ellos, con el fin de mantener el cumplimiento de requerimientos funcionales y no funcionales del sistema. A pesar de que los problemas de seguridad se consideren, también es necesario tener en cuenta los costes incurridos para garantizar un determinado nivel de seguridad en sistemas críticos. De hecho, los costes de seguridad puede ser un factor muy relevante ya que puede abarcar diferentes dimensiones, como el presupuesto, el rendimiento y la fiabilidad. Muchos de estos sistemas críticos que incorporan técnicas de tolerancia a fallos (sistemas FT) para hacer frente a las cuestiones de seguridad son sistemas complejos, que utilizan recursos que pueden estar comprometidos (es decir, pueden fallar) por la activación de los fallos y/o errores provocados por posibles ataques. Estos sistemas pueden ser modelados como sistemas de eventos discretos donde los recursos son compartidos, también llamados sistemas de asignación de recursos. Esta tesis se centra en los sistemas FT con recursos compartidos modelados mediante redes de Petri (Petri nets, PN). Estos sistemas son generalmente tan grandes que el cálculo exacto de su rendimiento se convierte en una tarea de cálculo muy compleja, debido al problema de la explosión del espacio de estados. Como resultado de ello, una tarea que requiere una exploración exhaustiva en el espacio de estados es incomputable (en un plazo prudencial) para sistemas grandes. Las principales aportaciones de esta tesis son tres. Primero, se ofrecen diferentes modelos, usando el Lenguaje Unificado de Modelado (Unified Modelling Language, UML) y las redes de Petri, que ayudan a incorporar las cuestiones de seguridad y tolerancia a fallos en primer plano durante la fase de diseño de los sistemas, permitiendo así, por ejemplo, el análisis del compromiso entre seguridad y rendimiento. En segundo lugar, se proporcionan varios algoritmos para calcular el rendimiento (también bajo condiciones de fallo) mediante el cálculo de cotas de rendimiento superiores, evitando así el problema de la explosión del espacio de estados. Por último, se proporcionan algoritmos para calcular cómo compensar la degradación de rendimiento que se produce ante una situación inesperada en un sistema con tolerancia a fallos

Investigation of a Neural Network Methodology to Predict Transient Performance in Fms

Most rapid analytical evaluative models for Flexible Manufacturing Systems (FMSs) are based on the steady-state performance. There is a practical need to develop robust, easy to construct, and transportable transient-state evaluative models for FMSs. This study proposes an ANN based metamodeling framework that can capture various post disruption system behaviors of FMS. The proposed ANN based meta-modeling scheme consists of a hierarchical taxonomy of mutilple ANNs. Each set of ANNs collectively represents a different part of the underlying system modeling domain. The taxonomical arrangement of multiple ANNs overcomes shortcomings often found in single ANN based meta-modeling schemes. These shortcomings are generally related to the limited knowledge acquisition capability of these schemes. The study uses an Extend based discrete simulation model that is built after an experimental FMS with a limited disruption trigger and handling capabilities. The simulation model is used to study various post-disruption behaviors by a given FMS and to study the feasibility of the proposed modeling scheme as a viable means to provide "lookahead" capability for a low level controller.Findings and Conclusions: The proposed ANN based metamodeling approach using multiple ANNs, in a taxonomically organized modeling structure, is an efficient way to capture multiple target performance index observation processes with a similar overall post-disruption behavior pattern. Despite its accuracy issues, this methodology was proven especially effective when it has to deal with noisy time series such as TIS at observation under a data rich environment. The study is to prove that the proposed methodology could be a viable means to model transient system behaviors. As long as individual observation processes of the selected performance index can keep their variances smaller among themselves, the accuracy of the overall model would be acceptable. This non-parametric performance modeling technique using hierarchically organized multiple ANNs, is worth further investigation.Industrial Engineering & Managemen