A critical path tool for parallel simulation performance optimization

Describes a new technique for determining the critical path of a parallel simulation. Rather than relying on the traditional method of analyzing the dependencies in a directed graph, the new technique uses a metric called the earliest processing time (EPT) to determine the critical path. The new technique represents a slight innovation over the traditional method. This technique can be implemented either as a centralized algorithm or a distributed algorithm. As a centralized algorithm, the technique relies on a trace file containing the relevant EPTs the computation. As a distributed algorithm, this technique can be implemented so that the critical path becomes part of the output of the parallel computation. A centralized implementation of this technique has been developed and applied to a large and complex military-oriented simulation called CTLS (Concurrent Theater Level Simulation). Details of the two algorithms, and the results of applying the centralized algorithm to the CTLS simulation, are discussed in this paper