Setting Kernel Speeds

It is possible to change the speed at which the CASiNO Kernel operates. Manipulation of kernel speed requires inclusion of the following header file

  #include<FW/kernel/Kernel.h>

Valid speeds are:

  enum Speed { QUARTER_SPEED   = -2, 
               HALF_SPEED      = -1, 
               REAL_TIME       = 0, 
               DOUBLE_SPEED    = 1, 
               QUADRUPLE_SPEED = 2, 
               SIM_SPEED       = 666,
               UNKNOWN_SPEED   = 999 };

If the speed of the CASiNO kernel is set to DOUBLE_SPEED then 10 second timers will expire in 5 wall-clock seconds, 30 second timers will expire in 15 wall-clock seconds, etc. At DOUBLE_SPEED the CASiNO kernel compresses its time relative to true external time by a factor of 2. This is useful for stress-testing of protocol implementations, since it essentially allows one to increase load by compressing the notion of time, rather than actually generating the load. If the speed of the CASiNO kernel is set to HALF_SPEED then 10 second timers will expire in 20 wall-clock seconds, 30 second timers will expire in 60 wall clock seconds, etc. AT HALF_SPEED, the CASiNO kernel dilates its time relative to true external time by a factor of 2. This is useful for debugging implementations of protocols with very short timers. By dilating all the timers uniformly (simply by slowing down the CASiNO kernel) the programmer can work normally in standard debuggers without having to ``race the system clock''. Changing and inquiring about the speed of the CASiNO kernel is acheived using the following methods

  void  Kernel::SetSpeed(Speed newspeed);
  Speed Kernel::GetSpeed(void);

For more information on setting the speed of the CASiNO kernel, please refer to the appropriate section of the User Guide, titled ``The CASiNO Kernel Itself''.