dsturrock

The post you quoted was over 3 years old (now updated a bit) and lots of things have changed since then including we moved to a new (.com) web site, renamed the existing Enterprise edition to Team Edition, then a year later came out with a new product named Team Edition. Somewhere along the way we introduced a new product named Express Edition which, among other things, can serve as a full runtime that supports experimentation. Here is an excerpt from our current documentation: Description of Runtime Capability Runtime is the ability for people to execute a Simio model without investing in that design-time version of Simio. Simio imposes no limits to the number of models you can distribute or the number of people you distribute to. And you are free to distribute outside of your organization if you choose. There is no charge for any such distribution Two runtime modes are available: Interactive Runtime Uses Simio Evaluation Version which is available free to anyone and may be used without activation. It provides the ability to load a model, run it interactively to view the animation, and even change the model at will. Model changes cannot be saved nor is the capability provided to run experiments or execute custom user-written steps and elements. Only Simio Team Edition (or higher) is capable of creating models that will run in Interactive Runtime. Full Runtime Uses Simio Express Edition. In addition to the substantial modeling features built into Express, it provides the ability to load and run models, save model changes, run experiments, and execute custom user-written steps and elements. Design, Team, and Enterprise Editions can create models for use with Full Runtime.

Simio has a number of enabling features that are not widely known. When you save a project file, most people use the .spfx extension which is a compressed binary file. But if you would like to take advantage of a version control software (VCS), you generally want the VCS to manage versioning and file compares and file compression, itself. Simio has a multi-file project format referred to with a .simproj extension, which is designed with exactly that purpose in mind. Ths format involves a single key simproj file and a related set of folders that contains the uncompressed version of all the included components. This allows VCS to recognize when a small change to your model is made that it only needs to save that small change and not the entire model. While this works with any VCS, internally at Simio we use Tortoise SVN (http://tortoisesvn.net/) which works quite well for us. Simio also has some built-in features to help track and maintain model/library versions. If you right-click on an object (a model) and select "Properties" you will see a set of model properties for that object including Version. This version number is referenced when loading this object as part of a library to help evaluate if an object has been changed and if the change should be accepted (more on this below). Some additional model properties including Description, Keywords, and Categories. These are available in your model, plus they are available externally. For example the Sample SimBit Solutions interface uses these properties to help you quickly find a SimBit of interest. Some of them are also used in the Model Documentation Report. Speaking of which, the Model Documentation Report is designed to provide a quick way of examining all non-default parameters in your project. It can be useful to instructors evaluating assignments or as a way to record or share a snapshot of your model data. If you click on your Project name in the navigation window, the click on Models and the Edit ribbon you will see various options for subclassing, cloning, and copying library objects. These options, while subtle, give you greater control over how the lineage of an object wil be handled. You will also see options on this ribbon to protect your object from viewing and editing, and also to describe changes that have been made with the latest version.

Simple approach: Take advantage of the fact that each model has an OnRunInitialized process that is called at the start of each run. --Create a table that contains all your initialization data. This might optionally be bound to an external file and automatically read if it changes frequently. --Define the OnRunInitialized process to search that table, create the entity(s), initialize the entity, and transfer it to the correct location. Look at the Simio Example (not SimBit) named RPsixample for an example of this approach applied to a simple scheduling model. More comprehensive approach: Take advantage of the fact that each object has an On Initialized add-in process that is called at the start of each run. --Create a table that contains all your initialization data identified by object instance. This might optionally be bound to an external file and automatically read if it changes frequently. --Define the On Initialized process to search that table for a matching object instance, create the entity(s), initialize the entity, and transfer it to the correct location. This can also set object characteristics as well, such as status, capacity, failure data, learning curve, … While this could be used by simply specifying the add-on process in each object instance, it is even more powerful if you create a custom object that includes a custom object-specific initialization process.

You can explore the contents of the Simio Standard Library by subclassing any object. You can do that by clicking on MySimioProject in the navigation window or by right clicking on any library object and selecting Subclass. The file itself is StandardLibrary.spfx and can be found in the MyDocuments\SimioModels folder. You should not change this file as it is automatically (re)generated any time its contents do not match what is expected.

Here are a few simulation blogs I am aware of. Please reply with other good ones if you know of any. Simio-Related: * http://www.simio.com/blog/ * http://blog.kimesolutions.de/ * http://simiosimulacion.wordpress.com/ (Spanish) * http://www.jsmith.co/ Other: * http://www.simventions.com/boms/blog/ * http://www.simulation.org.uk/news.php

The standard library vehicle has the option of a loading and unloading time per entity, but it is often difficult to model a situation where a vehicle stops for a specified time (like a bus or train). This object (with an example model) adds a single reference property and a single step to the standard Vehicle to allow you to specify that time. Smple, but convenient. VehicleWithFixedLoadTime.zip Done using Sprint 68

Ever have a rectangular box moving short edge first on one conveyor and then connect at a 90 degree angle to another conveyor on which you want it to ride long edge first. This rather flexible object will do that in any orientation. And has a few extra options as well. Part of the "trick" is to have two pictures of the same object oriented off by 90 degrees. Use this as is or as a basis for your own customized object. (Requires sprint 68 or later) Someday this may involve into a SimBit with a full explanation, but in the interim, enjoy. TransferDeviceSimBit.zip

While an If like Dan suggested but with 30 clauses would certainly be tedious to create, I think you could do it once in a Function, perhaps named StringState that returns the string. Then in all of your objects you simply reference StringState.

As you have discovered (and I discussed in my post above), running an experiment puts Simio in its fastest run mode possible. And in this mode it will automatically distribute the replications and scenarios across all of your processors/cores. This alone can provide dramatic speedups. If you have Team Edition, you can actually extend that to use spare processing power in your work group. So if you have 4 quad-processor machines available on your local network, you can run up to 16 simultaneous replications or scenarios. In terms of modeling, the most dramatic improvement you could make is to build your model at a lower level. The model you described is simple to model entirely in a single process with steps: (begin) - Seize - Delay - Release - Tally - (end) with the process triggered by a Timer element and using TallyStatistics elements for any token-related statistics like Time In System. You would not even need to create any entities, it could all be done using tokens which are smaller and faster. The process approach should be many times faster.

Good advice Steve, One minor correction: Simio returns a date with a 4 digit year, so you would actually have to use: String.Substring(String.FromDateTime( TimeNow ),1,10) to get the date in a MM/DD/YYYY format To get months of the year would be (color added to highlight components): String.ToReal(String.Substring(String.FromDateTime( TimeNow ),1,2)) Of course if you wanted something simple like hour of day, you could take advantage of TimeNow being in hours and use a numeric expression like: Math.Remainder (TimeNow, 24) If you want to limit the precision add use of the Math.Floor or Math.Round functions like: Math.Floor(Math.Remainder (TimeNow, 24 )) to display integer hour or Math.Round(Math.Remainder (TimeNow, 24 )*100)/100 to display hundredths of hours. Note that all of these can be used in Status Labels and Floor Labels as in the attached example.IllustrationOfTimeFormats.spfx You can see more examples if you look at the Floor Labels in the Simio Example named HospitalEmergencyDepartment.

Simio was the hit of the show at the recent Winter Simulation Conference. This topic will eventually contain a reproduction the entire talk given at WSC by Dennis Pegden. You can find many more introductory and training videos and webinars on the Simio web site (about 15 hours total) as well as still more on YouTube (many posted by users).

Another way to be on the "early notice" list is to subscribe to forums. If you click on any forum, in the upper right there is a "Subscribe Forum" button. This will cause you to be notified each time there is new activity. You might want to do this for every forum of interest, and particularly for the SI Downloads forum where new sprints are often posted before being made available to the general public.

This is a nice blog. I recommend also promoting it on the LinkedIn Simio Users Group as a news item. There is also a little-used Simio forum on http://www.simulation123.com.

In the current version of Simio, there is no fixed relationship between simulated time and real time. The model will run as fast as possible given the contraints of the number of simulation events and related "work" being done. The two other things that most dramatically impact simulation speed are Trace (when trace is on it excuted slower) and Animation (3D animation with a low speed factor runs slower). We have plans to provide an Emulation product for use in training and testing. Before that product is created, we will add the capability for Simio to run in real time or any multiple of real time. Speed Factor can be used to speed or slow the animation. Its main purpose is to improve the quality of an animation by decreasing the factor. This also has the side effect of slowing the animation so you can see certain events more clearly. Conversely, if you increase the speed factor, the animation will run faster, but in doing so, certain events (like movement on a path) might become jumpy or too fast to observe. Fast-Forward can be used to temporarily disable animation to allow the model to execute much fsater. Running an Experiment provides the fastest execution possible. Not only is animation and user interaction turned off, but it will also take full advantage of all processors on a multiprocessor machine, often running 2-4 times faster.

Yes. Runtime is a capability for a model to be run by someone who does not have a Simio license. Let's review some version capability: -- Models created in Simio Design Edition can be run by anyone with a commercial license, but cannot be run by someone with a academic or evaluation software. -- Models created in Simio Team or Enterprise Edition can be run by anyone with a commercial license, but can also be run by someone with evaluation software. -- Evaluation software is similar to the commercial version except that it cannot save models and can only load models that are prepared using Enterprise Edition. And it cannot execute programmatic interfaces (an advanced feature). Evaluation software can be freely downloaded from the Simio.com web site. So if you use Simio Team or Enterprise Edition, you can distribute your models to anyone else and they can run the models using software that they can legally use for free. The runtime user can load your model, run it interactively to view the animation, and even change the model at will. But they cannot save any model changes. To do that requires a commercial version. You (the model builder) can further restrict what the runtime user can do, if you wish, by protecting parts of your original model. So if your desire is to distribute a model for experimentation in the interactive mode only, you can protect the model so they can only change only the properties that you expose. Simio imposes no limits to the number of models you can distribute or the number of people you distribute to. And you are free to distribute outside of your organization if you choose. And there is no charge for any such distribution.

You can use Simio at several levels. Here are a few: • You can build simple models entirely within a Process (limited or no use of library objects). • You can use the Standard Library. This was designed to make it easy to do the more common applications, but is not intended to do everything. This library will be enhanced and supplemented with other libraries in the future. • You can enhance the Standard Library Objects via add-on processes. This functionality is still under development, but processes will be easy to define to supplement the OnEntry and OnExit behavior. For example, you may want to collect and report custom statistics or have custom exit logic. • You can enhance/replace the Standard Library Objects by inheriting from them and modifying any of the predefined behavior. For example the Server currently only allows a single failure stream. You could create a new MyServer object that reproduces the included logic to support three failure streams. • You can create entirely new objects by inheriting from base class objects (like Fixed Object, Link, Node, and Intelligent Object). With this approach you can graphically define any combination of properties and behavior that you want using Steps and Elements inside Processes.

If you would like to be automatically notified about new Simio product releases, Simio news, and industry events you should subscribe to our News and Events RSS feed. You can find it by looking for the RSS Feed Button on some of the Simio web pages and toolbars. Or you can go directly to http://www.simio.com/rss/index.xml. The result of subscribing to an RSS feed is that the feeds will be automatically updated and stored in your "RSS Folder". Many different programs will allow you to view the contents of that folder. For example, if you use Microsoft Outlook, look for a new Outlook folder called RSS Feeds. If you use Internet Explorer 7, look under the Favorites Center (Alt-C or the Star icon) and choose the tab labeled Feeds. You can consult the help in other applications to see if they support RSS Feeds. Signing up will ensure that you are among the first to know about a new release or breaking news. Use the link above to sign up now while you are thinking about it.

We are now sponsoring a blog to help each other become more successful in our simulation projects. We will be sharing information and initiating discussions that will prove interesting and helpful to both experienced and novice simulationists. If you are not experienced at "blogging" let me assure you that it is pretty easy to participate. 1) You can just check http://www.simio.com/blog from time to time and see what's new. 2) If you don't want to miss any content, you can sign up for the RSS feed. This will result in an email automatically sent to you with each new post (approximately weekly). To sign up, look for the RSS link at the very bottom of the blog pages or in your toolbar. Or simply go now to http://www.simio.com/blog/feed. 3) For the most enriching experience, participate! Look at the end of each posting for a link to enter your comments. Or if you want to suggest topics or even post your own topic, contact me - I'd love to have your participation. This blog is not about Simio or any particular product, nor is it intended to be in any way commercial or sales-oriented. Success in Simulation is available to all simulationists, as well as anyone who wants to become a simulationist or who just wants to learn more about simulation. While we expect to focus mainly on discrete event simulation, articles on the related fields of agent-based modeling, system dynamics, and emulation will also be included. The articles will be intentionally be kept short for a quick read, and will be written in an informal style for easy reading. I encourage you to subscribe to the RSS feed so that you will automatically receive new articles as soon as they are posted.

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You have joined an exclusive group. You have earned access to the inner workings of a great product. We are all very excited about our endeavor. It is way more than just a job... all of us on the team know that this is a special opportunity to change the simulation industry. And we are anxious to have you participate with us. As I mentioned in another post, Simio is a different type of company. One of those differences is that we recognize the significant value that YOU can offer. More than that, we are willing to "bare our sole" to you in an unprecedented way so that you have enough information to work with us. We know there is risk in this, but feel it is worthwhile so that we can produce truly stellar results. We know that your time is very valuable and we appreciate any time that you can spend to help. I would suggest that you start with the topics which are of greatest interest or those where you have the greatest expertise. We are interested in general feedback, novel ideas, mundane ideas (that we might otherwise overlook), feature requests, implementation suggestions... in short anything you offer, we want. If you think we need a new category or are otherwise missing some opportunity, please let me know. For most things I might suggest considering at least these four aspects: • What are the basic requirements (you would not use a product that did not have this)? • What would the ideal product look like? • Importance/urgency of the base feature and of any extended features. • How well the present proposal (if any) meets the needs Please remember that everything you read in here (whether posted by the Simio team or others) is protected by the Confidentiality Agreement. Please help us keep our evolving features confidential until they get to market. If our collective "novel ideas" trickle out into competitive products, it will weaken our ability to bring you the best possible product. Thanks again for your participation. Together we are defining a new state-of-the-art in simulation.

Thanks for visiting our Simio User's Forum. This forum has been created to: 1) Share information about Simio, 2) Provide a way for users to communicate with each other and with us, and 3) Provide a mechanism for us to to hear your ideas so we can make the best product possible. Guests If you are Guest (visiting without having registered), you are welcome to browse all our public forums, but we request that you first join our Simio Insiders group before you view the private areas or can post on any areas. Simio Insiders I encourage you to become more involved as a Simio Insider. Insiders will have full access to browse and post in an extended set of forums available just for you. You will find more information on this in Why Become a Simio Insider. There is one more category of membership that is a little harder to achieve. Simio Team Members (employees) are identified as such when we post so you know that we are providing the straight scoop. (This is not to imply by any means that we are always right ) Finally, if you have any other questions about how the forum works, I encourage you to consult the "FAQ" item from the main Forums menu (top center). Again, welcome to the forum. I am always anxious to hear your feedback (positive or negative) and any ideas on how we can improve this forum or our products. Email me anytime using dsturrock at simio.com

Did you ever wish you had been involved when a product was being designed? Have you ever said the words "If only they had asked me..."? This is your chance. Simio is a different kind of company in many ways. 1) One is that we welcome your ideas. And not just ideas concerning something we are about to ship, but ideas for new features, opinions on our early designs and concepts, and opinions on the ideas of others. This forum is one of the ways we hope to encourage your involvement. 2) A second way we are different is that we are agile. In short that means that every idea will get logged and prioritized. The highest priority ideas may be seen in new software in as little as a month. In my mind the most important reason to join is the opportunity to help change the simulation industry. Yes, that's "big talk", but WE ARE ALREADY DOING IT! The whole industry is advancing while trying to keep up with our frequent innovations. We have a lot of ideas in the pipeline, but we are missing yours... please join and help design the next generation of simulation products. But if you are looking for more reasons to join and participate, how about: - Access to early designs and concepts - Access to pre-release product downloads - Networking with the Simio user community (share your problems and help others solve theirs) - An opportunity to help set development priorities - Access to exclusive content - Access to Simio team members - Our sincere gratitude. If this sounds interesting, please join now. Read the topic How to Become a Simio Insider to find out how.

We would like to let everyone join Simio Insiders, but since some of the topics discuss unreleased competitive advantages, you must first agree that you won't "borrow" Simio ideas and share them with our competitors. If you can agree to that then please request membership in Simio Insiders at our signup page. Note that free emails such as hotmail and yahoo may not be accepted. We will contact you when your request to join Simio Insiders is approved. Welcome to the group.

We are actively soliciting simulationists of all backgrounds and skill levels to help us change the state-of-the-art in simulation and scheduling. Refer to Why Become a Simio Insider for more information.