Reactivity analysis of different Networked Automation System architectures

The reactivity of Networked Automation Systems (NAS) has direct influence on safety and quality aspects. It can be determined by a response time analysis, which itself can be calculated using probabilistic model checking (PMC). The analysis of a NAS has to account for several coupled components, each of them exhibiting its own behavior. Consequently, in this article the influences of (1) the controllerpsilas execution behavior including its network interface card (cyclic vs. interrupt based) and (2) the communication model (Producer-Consumer vs. Client-Server) on the response time behavior will be analyzed. For this purpose the systems are represented by abstract models using probabilistic timed automata. Probabilistic model checking is used to compare the reactivity of different possible combinations of the basic behaviors.