Modeling symmetric computer architectures by SWNs

Timed and Stochastic Well-formed colored nets (SWNs) have been introduced as a good modeling tool for complex systems with inherently high degree of symmetry. Analysis and simulation algorithms allow the automatic exploitation of model symmetries to improve their efficiency. Fairly strong constraints are posed over the color definition syntax in order to support such automatic symmetry exploitation as compared to other high level Petri net formalisms. In this paper we derive several models of parallel computer architectures in order to show not only that the formalism is adequate for this class of applications, but also how the different types of symmetries can be mapped into the allowed specification formalism. From this set of case studies we conclude that SWNs are an "intermediate level" formalism, closer to the application domain than P/T nets, yet requiring some ingenuity and experience from the modeler in order to exploit their (high) potential.