Synchronizing DEVS/SOA simulator with ping monitoring application

This paper describes our experiences and observations in developing an approach for integrating an external software application - ping - into the DEVS/SOA simulation testbed. A prototype implementation of the testbed is under development as part of a project to help automate testing of service-based software systems in accordance with US Department of Defense (DoD) objectives. The "ping" capability is necessary for gathering information on network health such as server availability. The process of invoking ping from Java can be fairly straightforward, but adding this capability to the DEVS/SOA simulation testbed requires far more careful consideration. We describe some of the decisions made in planning the integration, including several design decisions which had to account for issues such as synchronization, the requirements of the project, and elements of the end-user experience. To design the integration, we focused on the fundamental need for synchronizing the ping software application within the DEVS/SOA simulator testbed. The integrated DEVS/SOA Ping prototype demonstrates the kinds of interactions that should be accounted for when planning and executing testing of services. The approach presented in this paper is positioned to aid the design and development of other kinds of simulation-based SOA-based testing environments.