Performance analysis of network architectures

Abstract

Three approaches can be applied to determine the performance of parallel and distributed computer systems: measurement, simulation, and mathematical methods. This book introduces various network architectures for parallel and distributed systems as well as for systems-on-chips including multicore processors, comparing their advantages and drawbacks. The author gives an exhaustive survey of available modeling techniques, including mathematical methods like Markov chains and Petri nets, and simulation methods. The drawback is that models are usually too large to be handled by a computer system, and, due to model complexity, model development is very time consuming. As a solution, the author systematically presents methods for complexity reduction, which considerably reduces development time. In addition, he presents a strategy for developing a generator for automatic model derivation. Finally, both simulation and mathematical models are applied to two major examples, a cellular network and a multistage interconnection network. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2006.