Automated performance modeling from scenarios and SDL designs of distributed systems

An automated approach is described for deriving a performance model directly from a software design of a complex system. The goal is to model performance early in the design cycle, in a way that is tightly coupled to the design process. Automating the performance model-building process gives several advantages: it ensures that the model tracks the design, it reduces errors and it creates less work for the design team. The starting point is a design (in an asynchronous style) expressed in SDL processes, and a set of scenarios. To build a performance model, the SDL model is executed for a set of scenarios, traces are recorded for each scenario, and the model structure and data is extracted from the traces. A layered queueing model is then constructed. Other early design products, such as use cases or prototypes, can in principle also provide inputs to the same model-building process