Modelling and analysis of telecommunication cellular systems using Petri nets

Modelling and analysis tools are essential for design and evaluation of complex systems. This is particularly true for cellular systems, where a variety of handoff processes have been proposed. In this paper, the capabilities of Petri nets (PN) are used as a novel approach in the analysis of handoff problems. First, the generalized stochastic Petri net (GSPN) models are obtained, then they are analyzed as continuous time Markov chains derived from the reachability trees. Solution of the Markov chain permits to obtain performance indicators. Also the flexibility of coloured PN is applied advantageously to model multiple cells environments.