Three New Design Patterns for Scalable Agent-Based Computing and Simulation
Volume 35, Issue 2 (2024), pp. 379–400
Pub. online: 19 April 2024
Type: Research Article
Open Access
Open Access
Received
1 October 2022
1 October 2022
Accepted
1 April 2024
1 April 2024
Published
19 April 2024
19 April 2024
Abstract
Multi-agent approach is very popular for modelling and simulation of complex phenomena, design and programming of decentralised computing systems. Asynchronous beings, which do not share state but communicate using messages are a convenient abstraction for representing various phenomena observed in the real world. When the number of the considered agents grows, the designers and developers of such systems must address the problem of performance. Introducing distribution is often a weapon of choice, which, however, does not guarantee obtaining proper scalability and efficiency. The intensity of communication in a large-scale agent-based system can easily exceed the abilities of a distributed hardware architecture, leading to poor performance. After analysing various distributed agent-based systems, we identified several reasons for limited performance and several architectural solutions, which can help overcoming this problem. The main aim of the presented work is identification and systematization of these architectural solutions in the form of design patterns. As a result, we propose three new design patterns for building scalable distributed agent-based systems. A systematic description of their aims, structure, variants and features is provided, together with examples of applications.
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Biographies
Najdek Mateusz
M. Najdek is a PhD student at the AGH University of Science and Technology in Krakow. His work focuses on highly efficient and scalable urban traffic simulations. During his work on continuous models of urban traffic, he explores and expands the methods of effective scaling of simulation computing.
Paciorek Mateusz
M. Paciorek obtained his PhD in 2022 from the AGH University of Science and Technology in Krakow, Poland. His background in designing data management systems for HPC formulated a valuable basis for research on super-scalable spatial simulations.
Turek Wojciech
W. Turek obtained his PhD in 2010 and DSc in 2019 from the AGH University of Science and Technology in Krakow, Poland. He works as an associate professor at the Department of Computer Science of the AGH-UST. His research topics cover a wide range of possible applications of multi-agent system, from management of robots to distributed evolutionary computing. His recent research focuses on super-scalable spatial simulations which can efficiently utilize HPC-grade hardware.
Byrski Aleksander
A. Byrski obtained his PhD in 2007, DSc in 2013 from the AGH University of Science and Technology in Krakow, Poland. In 2020, he obtained the title of professor from the President of Poland. He works as a full professor at the Department of Computer Science of the AGH-UST. His research topics cover metaheuristics, agent-based computing and simulation systems, and parallel and distributed computing using HPC.
