Automated Transformation of Component-Based Software Architecture Models to Queueing Petri Nets

Performance predictions early in the software development process can help to detect problems before resources have been spent on implementation. The Palladio Component Model (PCM) is an example of a mature domain-specific modeling language for component-based systems enabling performance predictions at design time. PCM provides several alternative model solution methods based on analytical and simulation techniques. However, existing solution methods suffer from scalability issues and provide limited flexibility in trading-off between results accuracy and analysis overhead. Queueing Petri Nets (QPNs) are a general-purpose modeling formalism, at a lower level of abstraction, for which efficient and mature simulation-based solution techniques are available. This paper contributes a formal mapping from PCM to QPN models, implemented by means of an automated model-to-model transformation as part of a new PCM solution method based on simulation of QPNs. The limitations of the mapping and the accuracy and overhead of the new solution method compared to existing methods are evaluated in detail in the context of five case studies of different size and complexity. The new solution method proved to provide good accuracy with solution overhead up to 20 times lower compared to PCM's reference solver.