Simulation and modeling of data acquisition systems for future high energy physics experiments

The authors describe work undertaken at Fermilab in which several sophisticated tools have been brought together to provide an integrated systems engineering environment specifically aimed at designing data acquisition systems. Results of simulation experiments in which the effects of varying trigger rates, event sizes, and event distributions, over processors are clearly seen in terms of throughput and buffer usage in an event-building switch are also presented. In the context of the switch-based data acquisition system, it was possible to identify potential bottlenecks, determine buffer depths, aid system diagnosis, and better understand the interaction between different subunits as well as the system as a whole