Simulation of multicomputer radar systems for ballistic missile defense

Abstract

Modern missile defense radars involve complex data processing systems with stringent requirements for real-time throughput. To satisfy the peak processing demands of these systems, functions such as searching and tracking can be assigned to separate inter connected computers. However, predicting whether a proposed distributed system will actually satisfy its objectives is difficult because of the complex inter actions. The MULTISIM computer program can simu late multicomputer systems used in radar data process ing and can thereby aid in predicting performance. The simulator models a variety of distributed computer organizations involving central processing units,communications busses, shared memory, and a radar return stream. Both hardware connections and soft ware relationships can be modeled. The analysis of an example distributed computer system shows how results such as the processing time for radar returns, utilization of physical components, and aggregate throughput aid in evaluating proposed designs.