A Generic Solution to Software-in-the-Loop

The low fidelity and speed of traditional simulations have become unacceptable for the complex large-scale networks of today. In this paper we propose alternative techniques and focus on a software-in-the-loop implementation. Software-in-the-loop provides us with the following two-fold advantages: (a) it helps solve traditional simulation problems of model validity and (b) it can be used in the design phase as well as in the testing phase of a project. However, software-in-the-loop brings its own set of challenges, as we discuss in this paper. We will present a generic end-to-end solution that mitigates the challenges of a software-in-the-loop configuration to bring it it to its full potential. The success of our solution will be exemplified by its use in two government funded projects where it was successfully used to analyze scalability performance in one case and to perform unit and integration testing in a second case. The focus of this paper will be on the use of software-in-the-loop versus traditional simulations, discussing the challenges, issues and decision processes involved with the use of software-in-the-loop.