May 21, 2001 This is a simultaneous release of three products:
NetRule 4.0 includes enhanced modeling of servers, jobs, and scenarios, plus improvements to the user interface.
NetRule has enhanced its mathematical modeling of multi-CPU servers. In addition, you can now add a shadow-load as a function of utilization to model non-linear system overhead. Also, the SPEC library has been updated with the latest benchmark results.
The “destination list” has been replaced with the “process.” This simplifies the data model and lets you see graphically which jobs are executing on a server. The “job” also has a new field that lets you define the job to include multiple messages. For example, a single SQL query could include a message for each row retrieved. There are new shortcuts available via queries to simplify data input when messages are sent to multiple recipients.
The “count” parameter is now recorded separately by scenario, just like the “disabled” and “load” fields. The count feature is a very powerful way to model multiple users or sites, or servers, and now you can easily have different counts by scenario.
Previous versions collected a histogram of the distribution of delay on a job-by-job basis, as requested. Now, you can use a single menu item to distribute the delay of all jobs, and see all the standard deviation, minimum , and maximum results in a single report.
The diagram includes a new command to spread out the images so that none overlap.
Minor refinements include:
Some terminology changes:
The MT module models a multitier application as a set of jobs that communicate with each other. A Multitier application is evaluated based on the end-to-end flow of messages and the processing time on the different servers. Message traffic between jobs on different computers is modeled as usual in NetRule. Communication between jobs within a computer is defined by drawing a line from one job's process to the successor job, both of which are on the same computer. To display this relationship, the module includes a Multitier view in addition to the usual diagram view. The diagram view is organized like a physical network, with the jobs and processes inside the computers. The Multitier view includes only the jobs and processes that communicate with each other, and the computers that contain those jobs, as shown in the following example:
The originating job on the client computer is shown as a job image. The process that executes the job on the server is the same job image bordered in cyan. The message traffic between computers is shown as a cyan line from the job to its process, with the number or range of messages per transaction shown at the middle of the line. The computer that contains jobs or processes is shown as a gray box. Communication within a computer between a process and a successor job is shown as a black line, with the probability that the communication will cause the successor job to execute shown at the middle. The rate at which a successor job executes is the product of the rate of the calling job, the number of messages that the calling job sends, and the probability that the successor job will execute.
The sequencing of jobs can be as deep as desired, and the successor jobs at each step can be executed in serial, in parallel, or by random choice. Serial jobs are done in sequence and the delay is additive. Parallel jobs are done concurrently and the delay is the largest of the individual delays. When by random choice, exactly one successor job is chosen per execution.
The results of evaluating a multitier application are shown in:
The module includes the following queries:
If your license includes the multitier module, the home page will be titled, "NetRule MT," and your license will include "MT”.
The NetRule Viewer lets you view and evaluate networks that have been modeled with the regular NetRule, and protects the model against any modification within the Viewer. The Viewer version is intended for cases where one group, that uses the regular NetRule, needs to provide others with access to the models and results for reference or review.
The Viewer version fully supports all of the non-editing features of the Multitier module. It does not include any menu or toolbar items that would modify a model. The object fields are not editable, and diagram objects cannot be moved or disabled. You can edit the registration, preferences, and colors.
If your license is for the Viewer version, the home page will be titled, "NetRule Viewer," and your license will include "V”.
The above products require Java 1.2, or higher. Java 1.1 has begun the Sun End of Life (EOL) process. Also, 1.1 does not support multi-page printing, and the printing methods of 1.1 are incompatible with those of 1.2.
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