Simulation procedures are the main components which contain all necessary information to carry out a log synthesis operation. The dialog for creating/editing simulations shows all this information and allows for detailed configuration.
Starting with basic properties like the name of the simulation and the file name for the generated log file, the dialog allows establishing links to other simulation components which are required to carry out a log synthesis operation (context, time generator …). At the bottom of the dialog, the user can add multiple simulation runs, each referring to a Petri net model and defining specific parameters for trace generation. Transformers which allow to simulate the activity of an “attacker” are also configured in these simulation runs. For further information on simulation runs, see the corresponding section below.
The following table gives an overview of the different aspects of simulations which can be adjusted in the dialog:
|
Label |
Function |
|
Name |
The name of the simulation procedure |
|
File name |
The name of log file generated by SecSy |
|
Log format |
The format of the log file generated by SecSy. Up to now, the user can change between a plain text format (only containing activity names) and an XML-based standard log format (MXML). |
|
Entry generation |
Determines the level of detail in which log entries are generated. SIMPLE for traces containing only timestamps and activity names and DETAILED for traces containing also information about executing subjects and data items. In the case of simulation type DETAILED, the user has to specify a context and a data container. |
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A context holds information on the organizational context of the synthesis operation. This includes subjects and their permissions to execute activities and access data elements together with activity data usage (attributes used by activities). |
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Data containers generate values for data items used during process execution (e.g. credit amount) and store the values until a trace is completed. This way, the consistent usage of attribute values along a complete trace is ensured. |
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Defines timing-related information like the starting point of the simulation, working-days and -hours and activity durations. |
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EventType Handling |
Defines which event types are generated when the execution of an activity is simulated. In case of both, start and complete events, each simulated execution of a process activity will result in two log entries. |
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Simulation runs define the single execution steps of a simulation procedure which are executed in the order they are listed (top down). Each simulation run refers to a Petri net model defining the control flow of a considered process and additional parameters such as the number of traces for this process and the set of transformers to apply during synthesis. |
Hitting the button “Show activities” will show all known processes activities which are the union of all transition names of all Petri nets of the simulation runs.