System Configuration

Tons of parameters have to be configured in 9 types of configuration files before running a simulation. Table 1 summarizes the configuration files and Table 2-10 details each parameter to be configured. User is suggested to check the Modules page for better understanding of the parameters to be configured.

File Type	File Cnt	Name Convention	Where to specify the file name	Description	Parameter Details
Host Configuration Files	one for each Host	Host*.ini	omnetpp.ini	IO Generation, SCSI, N_Port, LUN Masking etc.	Table 2
Switch Configuration Files	one for each Switch	Sw*.ini	omnetpp.ini	E_Port, F_Port, Switch Control Centre, Domain, etc.	Table 3
Disk Array Configuration Files	one for each Disk Array	Dev*.ini	omnetpp.ini	CHIP, Caching, LUN, ACP, and Disk, etc.	Table 4
Processor Timing Files	one for each processor	My*.ini	Host/Switch/Device configuration files	Timing Host/CHIP CPU, Switch CPU, Array CPU, and FC Controller, etc.	Table 5
Disk Parameter Files	one for each disk model	*.params.ini	DiskModel is setup in section [5] of Device configuration file	Disk parameters for a given disk model.	Table 6
Disk Seek Files	one for each disk model	*.seek.full.ini	DiskModel is setup in section [5] of Device configuration file	Disk seek table for a given disk model.	Table 7
Zoning Configuration Files	one for the active network	ZoneSet*.ini	omnetpp.ini	ZoneSet configuration.	Table 8
Link Events File	one for the active network	LinkEvents.ini	omnetpp.ini	Link events triggered by Port events.	Table 9
OMNeT++ Initialization File	one for the active network	omnetpp.ini	-	General simulation parameters and SimSANs global parameters.	Table 10

Section ID	Parameter Name	Description	Comments
[1]	PeriBusWid	Host peripheral controller bus width in bit, usually 16, 32, or 64-bit	refer to HPC
	PeriBusClk	Host peripheral controller but clock in MHz, usually 33, 66, 100, or 133MHz	refer to HPC
	CPU	Host CPU file that defines timing elements	refer to Host CPU
	MaxTarLun	Maximum number of target LUNs that the Host can access	if more than MaxTarLun LUNs are specified in LUN Masking table (in section [2.1]) those extra LUNs cannot be accessed.
	MaxRdWrIo	Maximum number of concurrent READ/WRITE IOs that the host SCSI layer can open at any one time. Usually we choose 64, 128, 256, and 512.
	MaxCtrlIo	Maximum number of concurrent control IOs (RPT_LUNS, INQUIRY, and MODE_SENSE) that the host SCSI layer can open at any one time. Usually this value is < 64.
[2]	Port#	Specify the index for N_Port configuration	each Host normally installs at most two HBAs.
	MaxPortSpeed	Specify the port speed. Two values to choose: 1 for 1Gbps and 2 for 2Gbps.	Speed auto-negotiation is enabled so that the port speed agreed by both sides will be chosen as the actual link speed.
	R_T_TOV	Specify event time out value in millisecond. Two values to choose: 100 for 100ms and 0.1 for 100us.	100ms is the default value defined in FC-FS.
	FcpFeature	Specify FCP Feature for this N_Port. Two values to choose: "Ini" for FCP Initiator or "Tar" for FCP Target.	for Host N_Ports, always be FCP Initiator.
	RxBufSize	Maximum number of Frames that can be queued in the receiver buffer. This value is used to configure BB_Credit at the attached FC_Port. At lease one receiver buffer must be setup.	in SimSANs, for 2G link, approx. 2 BB_Credits are required for every 3km.
	TxBufSize	Maximum number of Frames that can be queued in the transmitter buffer. TxBufSize can be zero.	FC-FS does not require setting up transmitter buffer.
	C3ConCurrSeq	Maximum number of Class-3 concurrent Sequences that an N_Port login pair can handle	refer to EE_Pair and PLOGI
	MaxSeqTRy	Maximum number of transmission attempts for a Sequence. MaxSeqTry - 1 is the maximum number of re-transmission attempts if a Sequence fails.
	MaxPeerPort	Maximum number of remote N_Ports that this N_Port can login to communicate with	refer to EE_Pair
	FC_CTRL	FC-2 Controller file that defines timing elements	refer to FC-2 Controller
[2.1]	LUN_WWN	Specify the WWN for a LUN that has LUN Mask setting configured	if you do not want a given LUN to be accessed by the Host, just don't setup the LUN Masking on that LUN.
	LUN_MASK	Specify the Port# that allows the LUN to be accessed. Multiple Ports can be specified, separated by comma.	if all the Port# specified have no connections out, that LUN is not accessible.
	PRI_INI_WWPN	Specify the Initiator N_Port WWPN (in fact the WWPN uses module full-path, check OMNeT++ for more details) of the primary Initiator-Target path	SimSANs supports fail-back if the failed primary path is restored.
	PRI_TAR_WWPN	Specify the Target N_Port WWPN of the primary Initiator-Target path
[3]	LUN_WWN	Specify the WWN for a LUN that has READ/WRITE IOs to issue	in section [3] IO generation table, each row represents a single IO stream to a given LUN.
	IoNum	Total number of IOs to be generated for this stream
	Stime	The start time of issuing the 1st IO for this stream, unit in millisecond.
	IoPattern	Specify the IO Pattern (the combination of R/W ratio, IO Size, BlkAddr, and IO Gap) for this stream
[3.1]	Name	IO Pattern name
	R/W	The ratio of READ IOs over WRITE IOs	100 - Sequential READ, 0 - Sequential WRITE
	SizG	Specify the Size Pattern Name for this IO Pattern
	BlkG	Specify the Block Address Pattern Name for this IO Pattern
	GapG	Specify the Gap Pattern Name for this IO Pattern
[3.1.1]	Name	Size Pattern Name
	RGN	Random number generator name (or distribution function name). For IO size, the random number generated is in the unit of K-byte.	there're 24 RGNs including 20 pre-defined distribution functions in OMNeT++ and another 4 dedicated to SimSANs. Please see IO Generator.
	RNG#	Random number generator ID from 0 - 31	this parameter only applicable to the 20 pre-defined OMNeT++ RNGs.
	Par1	Distribution function's 1st input parameter	all 24 functions require at least one input parameter so Par1 cannot be set as N/A string "-".
	Par2	Distribution function's 2nd input parameter	if the function requires two or more input parameters then Par2 cannot be set as N/A string "-".
	Par3	Distribution function's 3rd input parameter	if the function requires three input parameters then Par3 cannot be set as N/A string "-".
[3.1.2]	Name	Block Address Pattern Name
	RGN	Random number generator name (or distribution function name). For Block Address, the random number generated is the LUN Block Number.	see here
	RNG#	Random number generator ID from 0 - 31	see here
	Par1	Distribution function's 1st input parameter. For seq_block, represents the initial block address.	see here
	Par2	Distribution function's 2nd input parameter	see here
	Par3	Distribution function's 3rd input parameter	see here
[3.1.3]	Name	IO Gap Pattern Name
	RGN	Random number generator name (or distribution function name). For IO Gap, the random number generated is the time interval (millisecond) between IOs.	see here
	RNG#	Random number generator ID from 0 - 31	see here
	MinGap	Minimum gap (microsecond) between consecutive IO requests	for for self_sim only
	OnShape	Shape parameter for ON periods	for for self_sim only
	OffShape	Shape parameter for OFF periods	for for self_sim only
	Load	Expected IO load in IOPS (IO per second)	for for self_sim only
	Srcs	Number of sources used for traffic aggregation	for for self_sim only
	Par1	Distribution function's 1st input parameter. Not applicable to self_sim	see here
	Par2	Distribution function's 2nd input parameter. Not applicable to self_sim	see here
	Par3	Distribution function's 3rd input parameter. Not applicable to self_sim	see here

Section ID	Parameter Name	Description	Comments
[1]	Domain_ID	Switch Domain ID. Each switch in the fabric must be assigned a unique Domain_ID. Valid from 0 - 239.
	R_A_TOV	Resource Allocation Time-out Value in millisecond	currently SimSANs does not use it.
	E_D_TOV	Error Detection Time-out Value in millisecond	required for REC_TOV timer. see SCSI and FC-ELS.
	CPU	CPU file that defines timing elements for switch control centre	see Switch Control Centre
[2]	Port#	Specify the index for Sw_Port configuration
	Area_ID	Area that the port belongs to. Valid from 0 - 255.
	MaxPortSpeed	Specify the port speed. Two values to choose: 1 for 1Gbps and 2 for 2Gbps.	see here
	R_T_TOV	Specify event time out value in ms. Two values to choose: 100 for 100ms and 0.1 for 100us.	see here
	B_Port	Specify whether the switch port is a B_Port. N for No or Y for Yes.	currently SimSANs does not support B_Port so should always set "N".
	RxBufSize	Maximum number of Frames that can be queued in the receiver buffer. This value is used to configure BB_Credit at the attached FC_Port. At lease one receiver buffer must be setup.	see here
	TxBufSize	Maximum number of Frames that can be queued in the transmitter buffer. TxBufSize can be zero.	see here
	FC_CTRL	FC-2 Controller file that defines timing elements	refer to FC-2 Controller

Section ID	Parameter Name	Description	Comments
[1]	CHIP_ID	CHIP index for the CHIP configuration	refer to Device
	PeriBusWid	CHIP peripheral controller bus width in bit, usually 16, 32, or 64-bit	same as the one in Host configuration
	PeriBusClk	CHIP peripheral controller but clock in MHz, usually 33, 66, 100, or 133MHz	same as the one in Host configuration
	CPU	CHIP CPU file that defines timing elements	same as the one in Host configuration
	MaxTarLun	Maximum number of target LUNs that the CHIP can access. Only affect the Initiator N_Ports within the CHIP. Make no sense to Target N_Ports.	same as the one in Host configuration. see here.
	MaxRdWrIo	Maximum number of concurrent READ/WRITE IOs that the CHIP SCSI_Rmt can open at any one time. Usually we choose 64, 128, 256, and 512.
	MaxCtrlIo	Maximum number of concurrent control IOs (RPT_LUNS, INQUIRY, and MODE_SENSE) that the CHIP SCSI_Rmt can open at any one time. Usually this value is < 64.
[2]	CHIP_ID	CHIP index for the N_Port configuration
	Port#	Specify the port index within the CHIP	usually each CHIP configures at most four N_Ports.
	MaxPortSpeed	Specify the port speed. Two values to choose: 1 for 1Gbps and 2 for 2Gbps.	see here
	R_T_TOV	Specify event time out value in millisecond. Two values to choose: 100 for 100ms and 0.1 for 100us.	see here
	FcpFeature	Specify FCP Feature for this N_Port. Two values to choose: "Ini" for FCP Initiator or "Tar" for FCP Target.	in SimSANs, Target ports always in CHIP.
	RxBufSize	Maximum number of Frames that can be queued in the receiver buffer. This value is used to configure BB_Credit at the attached FC_Port. At lease one receiver buffer must be setup.	see here
	TxBufSize	Maximum number of Frames that can be queued in the transmitter buffer. TxBufSize can be zero.	see here
	C3ConCurrSeq	Maximum number of Class-3 concurrent Sequences that an N_Port login pair can handle	refer to EE_Pair and PLOGI
	MaxSeqTRy	Maximum number of transmission attempts for a Sequence. MaxSeqTry - 1 is the maximum number of re-transmission attempts if a Sequence fails.
	MaxPeerPort	Maximum number of remote N_Ports that this N_Port can login to communicate with	refer to EE_Pair
	FC_CTRL	FC-2 Controller file that defines timing elements	refer to FC-2 Controller
[2.1]	LUN_WWN	Specify the WWN for a LUN that has LUN Mask setting configured. Only applicable to Initiator N_Port.	see here
	LUN_MASK	Specify the Port# that allows the LUN to be accessed. Multiple Ports can be specified, separated by comma.	see here
	PRI_INI_WWPN	Specify the Initiator N_Port WWPN (in fact the WWPN uses module full-path, check OMNeT++ for more details) of the primary Initiator-Target path	see here
	PRI_TAR_WWPN	Specify the Target N_Port WWPN of the primary Initiator-Target path
[3]	MaxArrLun	Maximum number of LUNs (including LUN0) that the Device installs
	CacheSize	Total Cache space in Mega-byte
	CswBusWidth	The Cache Switch bus width in bit. Usually we choose 16, 32, and 64-bit.	see Cache Switch
	CswBusClock	The Cache Switch bus clock in MHz. Usually we choose 20, 25, 33, 66, and 100MHz.	see Cache Switch
	CPU	Control Memory CPU file that defines timing elements	see Control Memory CPU
	CchWrThru	Enable (Y) or disable (N) Write-Through caching	see Control Memory CPU
[3.1]	CCH_UPD	Specify the Cache Update Name: None, Fixed, or Adapt	see Control Memory CPU
	FTH_actv	dirtyRatio threshold to activate flush operation
	FTH_deactv	dirtyRatio threshold to de-activate flush operation
	INT_flush	Flush operation time interval in millisecond
	FBR_max	Maximum value of Flush Block Ratio - the ratio of dirty blocks to be flushed over total dirty blocks	for Fixed Update only
	FBR_ini	Initial value of Flush Block Ratio	for Adapt Update only
	FBR_min	Minimum value of Flush Block Ratio	for Adapt Update only
	TOL_fact	Tolerance factor - usually a multiple of INT_flush	for Adapt Update only
	AGG_fact	Aggressiveness factor to generate the value of thisMaxFlushBlk	for Adapt Update only
[3.2]	Enable	Enable (Y) or disable (N) Cache Cleaning operation	see Control Memory CPU
	INT_Clean	Clean operation time interval in millisecond
	HRTH	Cache-Hit ratio threshold value
	CTH_H_actv	when Cache-Hit drops below HRTH, the ratio of occupied Cache space over total Cache space, when exceeded, the cleaning operation is activated
	CBR_H_max	when Cache-Hit drops below HRTH, the maximum ratio of Cache blocks to be cleaned out over total Cache blocks opened
	CTH_N_actv	when Cache-Hit above HRTH, the ratio of occupied Cache space over total Cache space, when exceeded, the cleaning operation is activated
	CBR_N_max	when Cache-Hit above HRTH, the maximum ratio of Cache blocks to be cleaned out over total Cache blocks opened
[4]	ACP_ID	ACP index for the ACP configuration	refer to Device
	PeriBusWid	ACP peripheral controller bus width in bit, usually 16, 32, or 64-bit	same as the one in Host and CHIP configuration
	PeriBusClk	ACP peripheral controller but clock in MHz, usually 33, 66, 100, or 133MHz	same as the one in Host and CHIP configuration
	CPU	ACP CPU file that defines timing elements	same as the one in Host and CHIP configuration
[5]	ACP_ID	ACP index for the Array Group configuration
	ArrGrp#	Specify the Array Group index within the ACP
	FCALSpeed	Specify the port speed for disk connection. Two values to choose: 1 for 1Gbps and 2 for 2Gbps.	see FC-AL Hub
	DiskModel	Specify the disk model name used by the Array Group. The disk parameter file name is DiskModel.params.ini and the seek delay file is DiskModel.seek.full.ini.	four pre-defined disk models are included in the SimSANs package.
	ArrGrpDiskNum	Specify the number of disks that the Array Group installs
	WrSecResp	Specify whether or not output sector response files: *.SecResp	see Sector Response Output
[6]	LUN_WWN	Specify WWN for the LUN (except LUN0) to be configured.	do not setup LUN0
	DiskNum	The number of member disks for the LUN
	BlkSize	Specify the LUN Block Size in K-byte. Usually we choose 4K, 8K, 16K, 32K, 64K, and 128K.
	ConCurrIo	Maximum number of concurrent IOs that the LUN can handle at any one time	see LUN Controller
	StripeDepth	Stripe Depth in K-byte. Must be a multiple of Block Size. Usually we use 4 x BlkSize.	SimSANs use RAID 1+0. see LUN Controller
	PrimaryDisks	Primary member disks identified by acpId.arrGrpId.diskId, e.g., 012 is ACP[0].ArrGrp[1].Disk[2]. Multiple disks are separated by comma.	use "-" to specify the member disk missing.
	MirrorDisks	Mirrored member disks

Parameter Name	Description	Comments
Cyl	Cylinder number
SecSize	Disk sector size in byte. Three values to choose: 512, 1024, or 2048.
TrkSec	Track density - sectors per track
Bands	Number of bands	see Disk Drive Parameter
CPBidx	Cylinder-per-Band index	see Disk Drive Parameter
SPBidx	Sector-per-Band index	see Disk Drive Parameter
L2P_MAP	Specify the mechanism for mapping logical sector to physical sector. Two values to choose: 1 for cylinder-band basis and 2 for cylinder basis.	see Logical to Physical Sector Mapping
Heads	Number of Read/Write heads
Rotat	Rotational speed in RPM - rotations per minute
BufSize	Disk buffer size in K-byte	see Disk Buffer
WrDly	Additional delay for settling read/write head for write operation. Unit in millisecond.	see Disk Media Access
HeadSw	Delay for performing head switch operation. Unit in millisecond.	see Disk Media Access
CylSw	Delay for performing cylinder switch operation. Unit in millisecond.	see Disk Media Access
CtrlOH	Controller overhead to initiate mechanic of read/write head. Unit in millisecond.	see Disk Media Access
FCALDly	Overhead for transfer sector between disk buffer and FC-AL loop link
cmdQueDpth	Command queuing depth. Unit in number of sectors.	see Disk Buffer
cmdQueDly	Delay in command queuing operation. Unit in microsecond.	see Disk Buffer

Parameter Name	Description	Comments
Output Files and Directories	There are 17 directories and 6 file names need to specified	see more details at Simulation Analysis
Data Collection Time Intervals	There are 9 interval values need to be specified for a variety of statistics	use larger value (> 1000ms) to decrease the disk space consuming
maxLinkEv	Maximum number of link events for each FC_Port
minEvInt	Minimum gap (millisecond) between events	SimSANs requires at least 1000ms gap.
light_speed	The value of light speed in km. Used to calculation of propagation delay.
link_1G_cost	Link cost for 1G Fibre Channel link	see Switch Control Centre about Link Cost and Path Selection.
link_2G_cost	Link cost for 2G Fibre Channel link
s_fact_km	How many kilometers the S factor get an increment by 1. Used to calculation of link cost.	see Switch Control Centre about Link Cost
evEndDelay	The flag evDone (one of the root module parameter indicating all link events are issued) is set true until this delay (millisecond) elapses after the last link event issued.
nsDbOutCol	How many columns of Port Address_IDs to display for each row of the Name Server Database output data (*.NsDb files).
defConCurrSeq	Default concurrent sequence value.	in FC-FS this value should be 1. SimSANs allows user to customize it.
maxIoGen	Maximum number of IO generators (or streams) can be setup for each Host
writePhySecMap	Whether or not enable writing physical sector map
writeLogSecMap	Whether or not enable writing logical sector map
skipScsiIo	Whether or not skip SCSI IO generation.	this flag is useful and save time when you only want to watch network activities without caring about IO activities.
maxDomNum	Maximum number of domains (or switches) that can be setup for the whole fabric
maxSwPortNum	Maximum number of port (port count) that a switch can install
maxNsDbEntry	Maximum number of Name Server Database entries	each active N_Port will occupy an NsDb entry.
maxZoneMem	Maximum number of zone members (N_Port IDs) that each zone can setup
maxZoneNum	Maximum number of zones that the active zone set can setup
Host*.nxPortNum	Number of N_Ports installed for the Host
Sw*.swPortNum	Number of E_Ports/F_Ports installed for the Switch	do not setup SwPorts much more than the switch expects to use during the simulation - unused port will cost a lot of memory.
Dev*.chipNum	Number of CHIPs installed for the Device
Dev*.chipNxPortNum	Number of N_Port installed for each CHIP of the Device
Dev*.acpNum	Number of ACPs installed for the Device
Dev*.acpArrGrpNum	Number of Array Groups installed for each ACP of the Device
Dev*.busNum	Number of bus connections between Control Memory with each Cache Switch	see Internal Switched Fabric
Dev*.cswNum	Number of Cache Switches installed for the Device
linkEventFile	The input file name of link events
zoneSetFile	The input file name of the active zone set	user can setup as many zone set files as he/she wants but only the one setup here is active during the simulation.
Host*.confFile	Host configuration file name	each Host in the network must have a configuration file.
Dev*.confFile	Device configuration file name	each Device in the network must have a configuration file.
Sw*.confFile	Switch configuration file name	each Switch in the network must have a configuration file.

Section ID	Parameter Name	Description	Comments
[1]	CPU_Clock	Processor clock in MHz
	Mem_Clock	Memory clock in MHz
[2]	Task_Name	Program task that consumes processor resource	see Timing Elements
	INSTR_NUM	Number of processor instructions to fulfill the task. Two values should be specified, and separated by comma. The 1st one is mean and the 2nd one is stddev.	see Timing Elements
	CPU_CYL_INS	Number of processor cycles for decoding and execution of an instruction. Two values should be specified, and separated by comma. The 1st one is mean and the 2nd one is stddev.	see Timing Elements
	MEM_REF_INS	Number of memory references needed for an instruction. Two values should be specified, and separated by comma. The 1st one is mean and the 2nd one is stddev.	see Timing Elements

Column	Description	Comments
1	Cylinder-to-move
2	Seek delay against the cylinder-to-move

Parameter Expression	Description	Comments
[Zone Name]	Zone Name for the zone
N_Port WWN	A list of N_Port WWPNs belongs to the zone	SimSANs uses WWN zoning. see Switch Control Centre.

Parameter Expression	Description	Comments
@ FC_Port WWN	Specify the FC_Port that has port events to setup	see Transmitter Event Generator
D time	Specify the simulation time (millisecond) when the port is DOWN	Multiple events may exist for a given N_Port but the 1st event must always be DOWN.
U time	Specify the simulation time (millisecond) when the port is UP	At least one second gap must be allowed between consecutive events.