COSSIM: A novel, comprehensible, ultra-fast, security-aware CPS simulator

Abstract

This paper present a recently started multi-national project which will provide an innovative comprehensible, ultra-Fast, security-Aware CPS Simulator (called COSSIM) that will seamlessly simulate both the networking and the processing parts of the Cyber Physical Systems (CPS) significantly faster and more accurate than any existing solution. In order to achieve that COSSIM will develop a novel simulator framework based on a processing simulation subsystem (i.e. a “full-system simulator”) which will be integrated with a novel network simulator. Furthermore, innovative power consumption and security measurement models will be developed and incorporated to the end framework. On top of that, COSSIM will also address another critical aspect of an accurate CPS simulation environment: the performance as measured in required simulation time. COSSIM will create a framework that is orders of magnitude faster, while also being more accurate and reporting more CPS aspects, than existing solutions, by applying hardware acceleration through the use of field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), which have been proven extremely efficient in relevant tasks. This paper presents the high-level architecture of the end-system as well the most innovative aspects of it that will allow it to be the fastest and most accurate such simulator, while it does not cover the security aspects of this novel system.