SimEvents

Model and simulate message communication and discrete-event systems

SimEvents^® can be used to model message-based communication in Simulink or any event-driven process with its discrete-event simulation engine and component library for analyzing event-driven system models and optimizing performance characteristics such as latency, throughput, and packet loss. Queues, servers, switches, and other predefined blocks enable you to model routing, processing delays, and prioritization for scheduling and communication.

With SimEvents you can study the effects of task timing and resource usage on the performance of distributed control systems, software and hardware architectures, and communication networks. You can also conduct operational research for decisions related to forecasting, capacity planning, and supply-chain management.

Get Started:

Discrete-Event Simulation in Simulink
Entities, Messages, Events, and Resources
Programmatic Control of Event Actions and Entities
SimEvents Blocks and Design Patterns
Analysis and Visualization of Results

Discrete-Event Simulation in Simulink

Discrete-event simulation with SimEvents provides capabilities for analyzing and optimizing event-driven communication using hybrid system models, agent-based models, state charts, and process flows.

Within this integrated modeling and data analysis environment, you can:

Design distributed control systems, hardware architectures, and sensor and communication networks for aerospace, automotive, and electronics applications
Model process flows, perform capacity planning, and optimize supply chains for manufacturing and operations
Analyze and optimize end-to-end latencies, throughput, packet loss, and other performance characteristics of communication networks
Customize queues, routing algorithms, processing delays, and prioritization schemes
Simulate hybrid systems containing time-based, event-based, and agent-based components
Simulate event-driven processes, such as mission plans with autonomous agents or the stages of a manufacturing process

Discrete-Event Simulation with Simulink

Understanding Discrete-Event Simulation (5 videos)

What Are Messages in Simulink? (2:25)

Optimize Operations by Integrating Tools to Support Decision Making

Airbus Defence and Space Simulates Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer Mission Data Flows

Understanding Discrete-Event Simulation, Part 1: What Is Discrete-Event Simulation?

Entities, Messages, Events, and Resources

SimEvents is used to model discrete items of interest within a model, in either the form or entities, messages or resources

Entities and Messages

With SimEvents you can create entities or messages to represent discrete items of interest, such as packets in a communication system or airplanes in an airport taxiway. The generation, movement, and processing of messages or entities in the system causes events, such as the arrival of a packet or the departure of an airplane. In turn, these events modify the states in the system to affect system behavior.

Simulink Messages Overview

Model an Ethernet Communication Network with CSMA/CD Protocol

Modeling Message Communication Patterns with SimEvents

SimEvents for Operations Research (3:19)

Model, analyze, and optimize various operational processes using SimEvents.

Attributes and Resources

You can characterize your entities with attributes, such as a destination address, processing time, or server delay. Entities can also acquire and release resources, which can represent supplies, machines, or even people that entities use to complete a task or event.

Effects of Communication Delays on an ABS Control System

Inventory Management

Optimization of Shared Resources in a Batch Production Process

Lockheed Martin Builds Discrete-Event Models to Predict F-35 Fleet Performance

Lockheed Martin Builds SimEvents Models to Predict Fleet Performance.

Lockheed Martin developed a discrete-event model of the F-35 fleet, accelerated simulations, and interpolated the results.

Programmatic Control of Event Actions and Entities

You can programmatically control event actions and messages or entities in the following ways:

Write MATLAB code for entity events that occur in different blocks, such as the Generator, Queue, and Server blocks. These event actions enable you to manipulate entity attributes and priority.
Within the event actions, invoke Simulink functions that can modify entities and start conventional time-driven execution.
Define custom queues, route entities, and create custom entity manipulation algorithms, using the Stateflow Discrete-Event Chart block.
Using the MATLAB Discrete Event System block, author new discrete-event components and blocks for your discrete-event model.

SimEvents for Model-Based Design (2:49)

Modeling Hybrid Systems - Tank Filling

Modeling Machine Failure

802.11 MAC and Application Throughput Measurement

Add system simulation or environment modeling to your algorithm modeling and graphical programming using SimEvents^® .

SimEvents Blocks and Design Patterns

SimEvents provides blocks that enable you to create, process, store, and move messages or entities and their resources in a system.

You can model both simple and complex networks of queues and servers.
By connecting gate and switching blocks, you can establish paths on which entities travel in response to events. These paths can include delays and selective switching criteria.
Many parameters within SimEvents can be programmatically determined to model probabilistic variations in the system.
You can also build your own domain-specific blocks by using a Stateflow Discrete-Event Chart or MATLAB Discrete-Event System block.
Further, you can use Simulink capabilities, such as masking subsystems and creating libraries, to build up SimEvents subsystems into component blocks that can be shared and reused by others.

The SimEvents Design Patterns library contains predefined blocks for common design patterns, such as time stamping entities upon generation or extracting attributes of entities as signals in Simulink.

Create Custom Blocks Using MATLAB Discrete-Event System Block

Build a Custom Block with Multiple Storages

M/M/1 Queuing System

Model Traffic Intersections as a Queuing Network

Optimizing automotive manufacturing processes with Discrete-Event Simulation

Daimler engineers run simulations with Simulink and SimEvents to aid operational decision-making, forecast the outcomes of manufacturing process changes, and improve production lines efficiency.

Analysis and Visualization of Results

Gain insight into the behavior of your model by animating, using statistics and scopes, and debugging.

Animation

You can observe entity movement in your model through built-in entity animation. You can also build your own MATLAB animations via custom observers that you create for the entities and events in your model.

Simulation of a Medical Device

Aircraft Boarding Process Flow

Using Custom Visualization for Entities

Model and Simulate Diagnostic Medical Devices with SimEvents (3:42)

Animate and Understand Sending and Receiving Messages

Develop models of complex electromechanical and fluidic devices, using SimEvents.

Statistics and Scopes

Most SimEvents blocks produce statistics that let you monitor aggregate measures, such as average service times, queue lengths, and server utilization. Custom scopes enable you to visualize these signals using familiar staircase and stem plots.

Job Scheduling and Resource Estimation for a Manufacturing Plant

Modeling a Kanban Production System

TriVector Verifies Time Latencies for Ares I Rocket

Interpret SimEvents Models Using Statistical Analysis

TriVector used SimEvents to verify time latencies for the Ares I Rocket.

SimEvents Debugger

The SimEvents debugger is a standalone tool that you can use to debug your model by pausing a simulation at each step or setting a breakpoint to query simulation behavior. The debugger also creates a simulation log with detailed information about what is about to happen or what has just happened in the simulation. You can debug both discrete-event and hybrid simulations by inspecting this log.

Sequence Viewer

Port Value Display

Debug SimEvents Models

Step Through a Simulation