New Trends in Large Scale Distributed Systems Simulation

Abstract

In this paper we present recent developments in the domain of modeling and simulation of large scale distributed systems (LSDS). Such systems possess features that include resource sharing, openness, concurrency, scalability, fault-tolerance, and transparency. The use of simulators for evaluating different methods or techniques designed for such systems is appealing due to factors such as reduced costs or time, diversity of modeling scenarios, and others. Recently several simulators where developed to model large scale distributed systems, considering their particular characteristics. In this work we present an analysis of simulators' properties, considering their design characteristics and the particularities of the used simulation models. We emphasize the pros and cons for each of the surveyed simulators, and present our approach in developing a generic simulator for large scale distributed systems. We also present a vision for future trends in this domain.