Abstract

Performance is often a central issue in the design, development, and configuration of systems. It is not always enough to know that systems work properly,they must also work effectively. There are numerous studies, e.g. in the areas of computer and telecommunication systems, manufacturing, military, health care,and transportation, that have shown that time, money, and even lives can be saved if the performance of a system is improved. Performance analysis studies are conducted to evaluate existing or planned systems, to compare alternative configurations, or to find an optimal configuration of a system. There are three alternative techniques for analysing the performance of a system: measurement,analytical models, and simulation models. The report focusses on the the use of coloured Petri nets for simulationbased performance analysis of industrial-sized systems. Coloured Petri nets particularly well suited for modelling and analysing large and complex systems for several reasons: they have an intuitive graphical representation; they are executable; hierarchical models can be constructed; it is possible to model the time used by different activities in a system; and mature and well-tested tools exist for creating, simulating, and analysing coloured Petri net models.

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We present an overview of improved facilities for performance analysis using coloured Petri nets. Personal experience has shown that people with different backgrounds have very different needs with regards to tools supporting simulation-based performance analysis. Inexperienced data analysts will have a tendency to believe what a tool tells them, therefore care must be taken to avoid generating misleading results. More experienced data analysts generally require that more sophisticated kinds of data are generated for specific purposes. The most serious problem is that it is often necessary to modify the behaviour of a model in order to use the libraries and tool extensions. With this framework it becomes possible to make an explicit separation between modelling the behaviour of a system and monitoring the behaviour of the model. As a result,cleaner and more understandable models can be created. Petri nets are not experienced performance analysts, and that this fact ought to be taken into consideration when developing performance-related facilities for coloured Petri net tools.

Introduction
performance (noun) the manner in which or the efficiency with which something reacts or fulfils its intended purpose. - Random House Websters College Dictionary We introduce the research field of performance analysis using coloured Petri nets. Section 1.1 gives a general introduction to performance analysis. Section 1.2 provides a brief introduction to coloured Petri nets. Section 1.3g ives an introduction to performance analysis using coloured Petri nets.Section 1.4 presents the motivation and aims of this dissertation. Section 1.5 gives an overview of the work done

Performance Analysis
Performance is often a central issue in the design, development, and configuration of systems. It is not always enough to know that systems work properly, they must also work effectively. There are numerous studies, e.g. in the areas of computer and telecommunication systems, manufacturing, military, health care, and transportation, that have shown that time, money, and even lives can be saved if the performance of a system is improved. Performance analysis studies are conducted to evaluate existing or planned systems, to compare alternative configurations, or to find an optimal configuration of a system. There are three alternative techniques for analysing the performance of a system: measurement, analytical models, and simulation models. There are advantages and drawbacks to each of these techniques. Measuring the performance of a system can provide exact answers regarding the performance of the system. The system in question is observed directly no details are abstracted away, and no simplifying assumptions need to be made regarding the behaviour of the system. However, measurement is only an option if the system in question already exists. The measurements that are taken may or may not be accurate depending on the current state of the system. For example, if the utilization of a network is measured during an off-peak period, then no conclusions can be drawn about either the average utilization of the network or the utilization of the network during peak usage periods.