Parallel and Distributed Discrete Event Simulation

Discrete-event simulation has long been an integral part of the design process of complex engineering systems and the modelling of natural phenomena. Many of the systems that we seek to understand or control can be modelled as digital systems. In a digital model, we view the system at discrete instants of time, in effect taking snapshots of the system at these instants. For example, in a computer network simulation an event can be the sending of a message from one node to another node while in a VLSI logic simulation, the arrival of a signal at a gate may be viewed as an event. Digital systems such as computer systems are naturally susceptible to this approach. However, a variety of other systems may also be modelled this way. These include transportation systems such as air-traffic control systems, epidemiological models such as the spreading of a virus, and military war-gaming models. This book is representative of the advances in this field.