A Simulation Model to Calculate Session Time for Running Simulation Models in a Shared Resource Environment

Abstract

This paper demonstrates how a simulation model can be developed to estimate the average time to run a computer simulation with a large number of users in a computer equipment environment where some of the equipment is dedicated to individual users during their session and other equipment is shared by the users. We explain the rationale for building such a simulation, develop the analytical basis upon which the simulation is built and present the details of the simulation. In essence, we advocate the use of one simulation model to insure the successful use of another simulation model. In this paper we refer to the simulation used by the participants in the lab as the “object simulation” and the simulation used to estimate the average session time as the “estimator simulation.”