Developing an Emulation Model Towards the Preservation of Modern Computing Systems

If we take a look around at the computer related systems (computing systems) present today in our everyday lives we will eventually come to realize that at some point, these very systems that we have come to rely upon, will one day no longer be available. Whether or not they physically break down due to normal everyday use, encounter a failed piece of hardware, or has software that becomes updated or outdated, they will all eventually be either replaced or lost. There needs to be some way to be able to preserve software or hardware systems in their original state, whilst preserving all other attributes associated with them (such as media, documents, or manuals) so that they are not lost. In this paper we will take a look at a requirements based model for emulation of systems that supports both the preservation of the original system, whilst also taking into consideration all other attributes necessary in order to preserve the original system. We will be taking a look at how models can be developed for modern computing systems in the application areas of video game consoles, personal computer based hardware systems, and smart phones. Lastly, we briefly take a look at how the model can be used for evaluating the performance of emulation as a means for preservation in a given system, and how this model can be extended into a general model.