Distributed Simulation

Abstract

Computing technology has advanced dramatically over the last twenty years, enabling new applications for networked simulation. Along with these applications are architectures and standards that support the interoperability of heterogeneous simulations. This chapter begins by looking at the historical roots of distributed simulation. It then examines distributed simulation as a technology, which is based on the science of distributed systems. There are two types of characteristics that distinguish the basic patterns of communication in distributed simulations: communication mechanisms and event synchronization. This chapter defines these characteristics and then describes the modern distributed simulation architectures based on these characteristics. The architectures discussed include Distributed Interactive Simulation, the High Level Architecture, and the Test & Training Enabling Architecture.