Synchronous Parallel Environment for Emulation and Discrete-Event Simulation.

The SPEEDES simulation engine allows the simulation builder to perform optimistic parallel processing on high performance computers, networks of workstations, or combinations of networked computers and HPC platforms.  Applications that can make use of SPEEDES are typically time-constrained (too many events to process in a limited amount of time).

What are the benefits?  

SPEEDES-based object-oriented simulations that run on High Performance Computing (HPC) platforms are able to address extremely complex problems and still maintain short run times.  Where 'real time' simulation is required, as in wargames or training, SPEEDES optimistic processing capability minimizes simulation lag time behind wall clock time, or multiples of real time.   Likewise, when fast completion of a virtual time simulation run is needed, SPEEDES accommodates increases in problem complexity with additional parallel computing nodes.

How does SPEEDES work?  

SPEEDES allocates events over multiple processors to get simulation speed-up.  This characteristic improves runtime, especially when exploiting the very large number of processors and the high-speed internal communications found in HPC platforms.  At the heart of SPEEDES is a set of innovative optimistic-processing algorithms.

For many simulation objects, their state changes at a much lower frequency than the frequency of events that make use of the object.  SPEEDES uses a scheme that reduces the message traffic between CPUs by establishing object proxies at CPUs that need access to those objects' states, and requiring inter-CPU messages only when the proxy state needs to be updated because of a change to the object it represents. Also, object subscribers may not need all the state data from a particular object proxy.  SPEEDES uses an optimization scheme whereby proxies can dynamically subscribe either to entire objects, or only to attributes that are of interest to them. The release of SPEEDES version 2.2, provides significant advances in parallel discrete event simulation. This release is the culmination of two years of enhancements and lessons learned on the Ballistic Missile Defense System Simulation (BMDS-SIM) project. SPEEDES has supported real-time BMDS-SIM simulations on 1 through 48 processors.

Version 2.2 enhancements were funded under a variety of contracts including both MDWAR and International Programs (IP) at the Joint National Integration Center (JNIC) and the Air Force Research Lab (AFRL) in Rome NY. The work to test and release Version 2.2 was funded by Northrop Grumman Corporation.

SPEEDES allows each of an unlimited array of processors to race ahead with an assigned set of events, create messages, etc. without regard to processing on other CPUs.  Then, anytime a 'straggler' message arrives at a CPU that invalidates the processing that has been going on at that CPU, the processing is rolled back and any messages sent as a result of the invalid processing are cancelled.  Other CPUs that receive message cancellations then may be rolled back, and so on.  The algorithms also allow the user to balance 'at-risk' forward processing of events that may have to be undone and re-processed, with risk-free forward processing of events whose output messages can be held until needed by other events.

SPEEDESSPEEDES

Development and Use

Developed, maintained, and distributed by METRON

Metron supplies source code to qualified (U.S. only) users at no charge

On-line documentation at www.speedes.com

Primary users

JNIC: Ballistic Missile Defense System Simulation (BMDS-SIM)

Air Force Research Lab: Force Structure Simulation (FSS)

Operations Analysis & Simulation Sciences

High Performance Computing

For more information contact:James S Brutocao

Senior Software AnalystMetron, Inc.

512 Via de la Valle Suite 301Solana Beach, CA 92075

Phone: (858) 792-8904Fax: (858) 792-2719

Email: brutocaoj@ca.metsci.com Web: www.metsci.com

www.speedes.com

Ron Van IwaardenPhD, Applied Mathematics,

University of Colorado

SPEEDES developer for 9 years

SPEEDES design, development and documentation

JNIC MDWAR wargame support

Gary BlankMS, Comp. Science, University of

VirginiaBS, Applied Mathematics, Brown

UniversitySPEEDES developer for 9 years

DSF design, development SPEEDES support of AFRL

SPEEDES enhancementsHLA RTI developer

Jacob BurckhardtBS, Computer Science, UC Berkeley

SPEEDES developer for 9 yearsSPEEDES enhancementsCCSE sim engine IV&VSPEEDES testing

SPEEDES Configuration Mgt.

SPEEDES Lead Developers

CSPEEDES

Software Software Framework/toolbox for Framework/toolbox for building parallel C++ building parallel C++

simulationssimulations

Distributes simulation over multiple Distributes simulation over multiple CPUsCPUs

Coordinates simulation activities Coordinates simulation activities between CPUsbetween CPUs

SPEEDES

Applications of Mathematics, Applications of Mathematics, Operations Research, and Operations Research, and

Simulation SciencesSimulation Sciences

Dynamic Simulation Framework (DSF)

This major new parallel processing engine, based on SPEEDES, allows users to emulate a realtime process and at any time initialize multiple rapid course-of-action simulations to support real-time decision making.

DSF engine development is being funded by the Information Technology Division of the Air Force Research Lab at Rome, NY.

Janie WojdylaBS, Computer Science, Southwest

Texas State UniversitySoftware developer for 14 years

JNIC BMDS-SIM SPEEDES support

METRON has also completed a Northrop Grumman funded project to rehost the U.S. Navy SPAWAR-developed Common Component Simulation Engine (CCSE) on SPEEDES version 2.2. The merged product is called CSPEEDES. Metron demonstrated that objects using the Federation Object (FO) interface could interact simply with objects using the Object Proxy interface used by BMDS-SIM.