Care HPS: A high performance simulation tool for parallel and distributed agent-based modeling

© 2016 Elsevier B.V. Parallel and distributed simulation is a powerful tool for developing complex agent-based simulation. Complex simulations require parallel and distributed high performance computing solutions. It is necessary because their sequential solutions are not able to give answers in a feasible total execution time. Therefore, for the advance of computing science, it is important that High Performance Computing (HPC) techniques and solutions be proposed and studied. In literature, we can find some agent-based modeling and simulation tools that use HPC. However, none of these tools are designed to enable the HPC expert to be able to propose new techniques and solutions without great effort. In this paper, we introduce Care High Performance Simulation (HPS), which is a scientific instrument that enables researchers to: (1) develop techniques and solutions of high performance distributed simulations for agent-based models; and, (2) study, design and implement complex agent-based models that require HPC solutions. Care HPS was designed to easily and quickly develop new agent-based models. It was also designed to extend and implement new solutions for the main issues of parallel and distributed solutions such as: synchronization, communication, load and computing balancing, and partitioning algorithms. We conducted some experiments with the aim of showing the completeness and functionality of Care HPS. As a result, we show that Care HPS can be used as a scientific instrument for the advance of the agent-based parallel and distributed simulations field.