A Petri net tool for software performance estimation based on upper throughput bounds

Abstract

Functional and non-functional properties analysis (i.e., dependability, security, or performance) ensures that requirements are fulfilled during the design phase of software systems. However, the Unified Modelling Language (UML), standard de facto in industry for software systems modelling, is unsuitable for any kind of analysis but can be tailored for specific analysis purposes through profiling. For instance, the MARTE profile enables to annotate performance data within UML models that can be later transformed to formal models (e.g., Petri nets or timed automatas) for performance evaluation. A performance (or throughput) estimation in such models normally relies on a whole exploration of the state space, which becomes unfeasible for large systems. To overcome this issue upper throughput bounds are computed, which provide an approximation to the real system throughput with a good complexity-accuracy trade-off. This paper introduces a tool, named PeabraiN, that estimates the performance of software systems via their UML models. To do so, UML models are transformed to Petri nets where performance is estimated based on upper throughput bounds computation. PeabraiN also allows to compute other features on Petri nets, such as the computation of upper and lower marking place bounds, and to simulate using an approximate (continuous) method. We show the applicability of PeabraiN by evaluating the performance of a building closed circuit TV system.