Efficient performance analysis techniques for stochastic well-formed nets and stochastic process algebras

Abstract

Stochastic Well Formed Nets and Stochastic Process Algebras are high level description languages for the specification and the performance evaluation of concurrent systems. In both formalisms the performance analysis of the modelled system can be performed by generating a continuous time Markov chain of the size of the model state space: this often leads to the so called state space explosion problem which can prevent the possibility of completing the desired analysis. In this chapter we will present two state space aggregation techniques, each working on one of the two formalisms, allowing efficient performance analysis. The advantages and disadvantages of the two techniques will be discussed and compared.