Resource management in SAS Simulation Studio

We present an overview of resource management in SAS Simulation Studio, an object-oriented, Java-based application for building and analyzing discrete-event simulation models. In Simulation Studio, resources are modeled as special types of hierarchical entities that can be assigned attributes and flow through the model. Furthermore, resource entities can be seized and released by other entities to fulfill resource demands. Flexible resource entity rules are used to specify these demands, as well as the requirements of other resource operations, such as state and capacity changes. The hierarchical, entity-based approach in Simulation Studio allows the user more control over resource behavior and provides many advantages over alternative resource management techniques, especially in the areas of resource scheduling and preemption.