FAQ

• 1. What is HLA

  1. The High Level Architecture (HLA) is a general purpose architecture for distributed computer simulation systems . Using HLA, computer simulations can communicate to other computer simulations regardless of the computing platforms. Communication between simulations is managed by a Run-Time Infrastructure (simulation) (RTI).
  2. High level architecture (simulation). (2009, May 14). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 15:06, May 14, 2009, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=High_level_architecture_(simulation)&oldid=289892100

• 2. What are the components of an HLA federation

  

  1. The standard defined by a set of documents available form IEEE (1.3, IEEE 1516 Rules, API, Docs)
  2.  The Run Time Infrastructure (RTI) is the middleware components managing the federation execution. See Pitch, MAK or RTI-NG Pro for commercial RTI or Portico for Open Source RTI.
  3.  Although a HLA federation can be run on a single computer, one of the benefit is to execute the simulation over a network. Network components involved unclude network cards, hub, switch, security, and more …
  4.  The federation object model (FOM) is the agreement between the federates about the type of information exchanged and the data structure used to do so.
  5.  The federates are the simulations exchanging information during the execution of the federation. They represent the knowledge,  the mathematical models, data logger or any other software components designed to interact with other HLA components.

• 3. What is an RTI

  

  In simulation , run-time infrastructure (RTI) is a middleware that is required when implementing the High Level Architecture . RTI is the fundamental component of HLA . It provides a set of software services that are necessary to support federates to coordinate their operations and data exchange during a runtime execution. In other sense, it is the implementation of the HLA interface specification but is not itself part of specification. Modern RTI implementations conform to the IEEE 1516 and/or HLA 1.3 API specifications. These specifications do not include a network protocol for RTI. It is up to the implementors of an RTI to create a specification. Due to this, interoperability between RTI products should not be assumed unless the vendor specifies interoperability with other products or versions.

• 4. What are MATLAB and Simulink

  MATLAB is The leading environment for technical computing providing:

  • Numeric computation
  • Data analysis and visualization
  • The de facto industry-standard,
    high-level programming language
    for algorithm development
  • Toolboxes for signal and image processing, statistics, optimization, symbolic math, and other areas
  • Foundation of the MathWorks product family

  Simulink is The leading environment for modeling, simulating, and implementing dynamic and embedded systems

  • Linear, nonlinear, discrete-time,
    continuous-time, hybrid, and
    multirate systems
  • Foundation for Model-Based Design, including physical-domain
    modeling, automatic code generation,
    and verification and validation
  • Open architecture for integrating
    models from other tools
  • Applications in controls, signal
    processing, communications, and
    other system engineering areas

• 5. What kind of training can ForwardSim provide

  ForwardSim provide personalized training session related to modeling and simulation. After a complete evaluation of your requirements, a course will be built and presented to your staff at your site or at our main office in Québec city.

  Although we adjust our training session to meet customer’s need, we typically provide training related to the followings:

  • Introduction to simulation
  • MATLAB & Simulink
  • High Level Architecture standard for distributed simulation
  • HLA Toolbox for MATLAB
  • HLA Blockset for Simulink

• 6. How does the licensing work for the HLA Toolbox and the HLA Blockset

  1. Two license types are available. The standard license and the developer license. The developer license has the extra capability to generate code through the MATLAB compiler and RTW. The generated executables can be run on other computers royalty free (no licenses riquired).
  2. The licenses for the HLA Toolbox and the HLA Blockset are computer locked. Using internal hardware components ID, an activation key is generated for a specific computer. The number of user is not limited.

• 7. Is the HLA Toolbox compatible with the MATLAB compiler

  The MATLAB compiler can be used to compile HLA federate developed with the HLA Toolbox into a standalone executable. The standard license allows the standalone application to run on the same computer as the one used to generate it (the HLA Toolbox licensed computer). The developer license allows the standalone application to be executed on any computer without the need for a MATLAB license neither for an HLA Toolbox license.

• 8. Is the HLA Blockset compatible with RTW

  RTW can be used to compile HLA federate developed with the HLA Blockset into a standalone executable. The standard license allows the standalone application to run on the same computer as the one used to generate it (the HLA Blockset licensed computer). The developer license allows the standalone application to be executed on any computer without the need for a MATLAB/Simulink license neither for an HLA Blockset license.

• 9. Does all the federate need to be built with MATLAB

  1. Since the HLA Toolbox and the HLA Blockset are used to build fully compliant HLA federates, they can interact with any other HLA tool or software meeting the standard.
  2. You can build an entire federation using only federates built from MATLAB and/or Simulink but it is not necessary. The rapidly developed MATLAB and Simulink federates can interact with any HLA components.

• 10. Are the HLA Toolbox and the HLA Blockset compatible with DIS

  The HLA Toolbox and the HLA Blockset are not designed to be used with the old Distributed Interactive Simulation (DIS) standard but several DIS-to-HLA tools can make your DIS model part of an HLA federation and vis-versa.

  Visit http://www.mak.com/products/gateway.php or http://www.pitch.se/products/dis-adapter for more details.