Predicting the performance of synchronous discrete event simulation systems

In this paper we propose a model to predict the performance of synchronous discrete event simulation. The model considers parameters including the number of active objects per cycle, event execution granularity and communication cost. We, derive a single formula that predicts the performance of synchronous simulation. We have benchmarked several VHDL circuits on SGI Origin 2000. The benchmark results show that the prediction model explains more than 90% of parallel simulation execution time. We also measure the effect of computation granularity over performance. The benchmark results show that although higher granularity can have better speedup because of dominance of computation over communication, the computational granularity cannot overshadow the inherent synchronization cost. This model can be used to predict the speed-up expected for synchronous simulation, and to decide whether it is worthwhile to use synchronous simulation before actually implementing it.