15. Cloud System Simulation Modeling

A set of services form a system of services, a set of hardware parts form a system of networked components, and the former and latter together form cloud systems. This chapter shows how simulations for cloud system designs can be succinctly characterized in a DEVS Modeling Environment which supports software-hardware co-design. This enables trade-off analyses among alternative architectural designs that exhibit new kinds of inherent complexity that are impractical to stage in real-world settings. An example uses a voice communication system which exhibits features that are common to numerous cloud systems. Using SOA-compliance, the formulation becomes independent of any specific application and this supports developing simulation models for different domains of interest. The simulation platform also can be used with actual services and adapts itself during run-time using dynamic structure capability (Chap. 14). It can be combined with actual cloud systems which can support evaluating system structure scalability and operational efficiency using timeliness and accuracy attributes. Such an environment makes cloud system simulation an attractive, useful tool for early cloud system co-designs and evaluations.