SimBA: A Discrete Event Simulator for Performance Prediction of Volunteer Computing Projects

SimBA (Simulator of BOINC Applications) is a discrete event simulator that models the main functions of BOINC, which is a well-known framework used in Volunteer Computing (VC) projects. SimBA simulates the generation and distribution of tasks that are executed in a highly volatile, heterogeneous, and distributed environment as well as the collection and validation of completed tasks. To understand the strengths and weaknesses of BOINC under distinct scenarios, project designers want to study and quantify project performance without negatively affecting people in the VC community. Although this is not possible on production systems, it is possible using SimBA, which is capable of testing a wide range of hypotheses in a short period of time. Our experience to date indicates that SimBA is a reliable tool for performance prediction of VC projects. Preliminary results show that SimBA's predictions of Predictor@Home performance are within approximately 5% of the performance reported by this BOINC project.