Distributed dynamic balancing of communication load for large-scale HLA-based simulations

In large-scale distributed simulations, communication aspects are highly significant due to their direct influence on performance. The High Level Architecture (HLA) provides services for managing such simulations and reducing their communication overhead. However, HLA does not present any solution for the communication latencies caused by the network distances among simulation elements. Several dynamic balancing schemes have been proposed attempting to provide a general best solution for the performance issues caused by computation and communication imbalances. Amongst these schemes, some just perform a limited redistribution of communication load. Based on a proximity analysis of federate interactions, a distributed dynamic scheme for balancing the communication load of HLA-based simulations is devised. The design of this distributed scheme aims at improving fault tolerance, decreasing communication and computation overload, and avoiding bottlenecks in the system. The distributed balancing system, organized in the hierarchical structure, monitors simulations, redistributes load, and migrates federates. Experiments have been realized to compare the proposed distributed scheme with a centralized scheme and to prove its effectiveness for large-scale HLA-based simulations.