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Arena FAQs

♦ What industries does Arena serve?

Arena does not have a single target industry focus. The flexibility of the Arena simulation modeling tool allows for analysis of everything from customer support centers to complete supply chains. The Arena simulation modeling tool is typically used in manufacturing, food and beverage, services, healthcare, entertainment, transportation and logistics, banking and finance, telecommunications, and business process improvement.

♦ How broad is the user base for Arena?

The Arena user base ranges from Fortune 500 companies to smaller businesses seeking process improvement and insurance in their decision making. Well over 500 universities worldwide use Arena in their curriculums, teaching industrial/systems engineering, business, and health policy students the practice of simulation and to conduct research using Arena.

♦ Are there examples to help me get started in building models?

Yes, Arena has over 300 fully documented example models, called SMART files, which show users how to approach problems commonly seen in various systems and ones that are typically part of a simulation study. Some of the example models are animation of resources, decision logic, queue ranking rules, and working with external data files to name just a few topics. These example models are included in the standard Arena install and may be accessed from the toolbar at Help/Arena SMART Files.

♦ What are the software requirements for Arena?

To use Arena, your system must meet these software requirements:

- Microsoft Windows Vista® (SP1 or later, 32-bit version only), Windows XP Professional (SP2 or later), or Windows XP Home (SP2 or later). [Arena has been successfully installed and tested under Microsoft Windows 7 (32-bit) without any major issues.]
- Microsoft Internet Explorer®, version 6.0 or later. Version 7.0 is recommended for Windows Vista operating systems
- Adobe® Reader 9.1.0 or later recommended to view documentation

You must have Administrative privileges to install the software. If you are using the Microsoft Windows Vista operating system, you must also have Administrative privileges to run the software.

♦ Are there specific hardware requirements to run Arena?

To use Arena, your system must meet these hardware requirements:

- Hard drive with 250MB free disk space (or more, depending on the options installed)
- 1GB RAM (or more)
- Pentium® processor, 2GHz or faster. The Arena software can be run on single processor, dual processor, and dual-core processor computers; however, you can only run one instance of Arena at a time
- Internet access for installing FactoryTalk® Activations

Note: The running and animation of Arena and some large simulation models can be calculation-intensive, so a faster processor with additional memory may result in significantly improved performance. In addition, a larger monitor with a screen resolution of at least 1024 x 768 is recommended for improved animation viewing.

♦ What are the software requirements for Arena 3DPlayer?

To use Arena 3DPlayer, your system must meet these software requirements:

- Microsoft® Windows XP® Professional (SP2 or later)
- Microsoft® Internet Explorer 6.0 or later
- Adobe® Acrobat Reader 7.0 or later to view documentation

You must have Administrative privileges to install the software.

♦ Are there specific hardware requirements to run Arena 3DPlayer?

To use Arena 3DPlayer, your system must meet these hardware requirements:

- Hard drive with 250MB free disk space (or more, depending on the options installed)
- 1GB RAM (or more)
- Pentium® 4 processor, 2GHz or faster. The Arena software can be run on single processor, dual processor, and dual-core processor computers; however, you can only run one instance of Arena at a time
- Video adapter with 32MB of memory (or better) recommended
- Video adapter with 3-D acceleration strongly recommended
- Internet access for installing FactoryTalk® Activations
- Screen resolution of 1024 x 768 or higher recommended but not required
- Mouse or other pointing device with two buttons; recommend three buttons. (Note: Most wheel mice have a third button.)
- Arena PE version 12.0 or higher is recommended for generating playback files for layouts but is not required to be installed on the same machine.

Note: The animation of large layouts developed in Arena 3DPlayer can be very video and CPU intensive so a faster processor, better video card, more RAM, and more video memory will provide smoother, more dramatic visual representations of your system.

♦ What is node-locked activation licensing?

A node-locked license fixes an activation license to a specific computer or hardware device, a dongle. From a technical standpoint, a node-locked activation file “locks” the software activation to a specific hardware ID, called a “Host ID,” that uniquely identifies a local computer or a hardware dongle:

- Local, node-locked activations can activate software only on a single computer. If the activation is copied to another computer, the software will not run on that other computer.

- Mobile, node-locked activations are locked to hardware dongles. A dongle is a security or copy-protection device that must be connected to the computer while the program runs. The activation files can be copied to multiple computers, but the software activates only on the computer where the dongle is connected. In order to transfer the activation to another user, the physical dongle must be passed along.

Users can upgrade to concurrent activation at any time.

♦ What is concurrent activation licensing?

Concurrent activation allows the sharing of a license(s) across a shared network. Concurrent licensing is “locked” to an activation server computer. The server manages a pool of activations and shares them with client computers over a network connection. Client computers must be configured to search for activations on the activation server. Licenses may be shared out as long as a sufficient number of licenses is available (unassigned) in the pool.

There are two kinds of concurrent activations:

- Floating activations are automatically assigned to a client computer when the client runs software that requires activation and are automatically returned to the activation server when the client shuts down the software or loses its network connection. Floating activations require a continuous network connection.

- Borrowed activations are also retrieved from a pool of available activations on an activation server; however, borrowed activations expire after a specified amount of time. Unlike a floating activation that requires a continuous network connection, once a borrowed activation is checked out to a particular computer, the computer can disconnect from the network.

No physical dongle is required for users to use the activation. If multiple users in remote locations require the software use, concurrent activation is recommended.

♦ Can I download trial software?

A full-functioning, perpetual evaluation-mode software is available for download. Simply contact our local representative to get instructions on how to download the current version of Arena. This is the same software as a licensed version, but the evaluation mode has a limitation on the number of building blocks (modules, blocks, and elements) and active entities in a model.

To transition your evaluation software into a full-license version, please contact your local software representative.

♦ How is simulation different from modeling processes in a spreadsheet?

A spreadsheet simulation/analysis typically evaluates a system and processes in a system in terms of average values or a single point in time. This is sufficient to approximate rough estimates to provide a frame of reference for relatively static system performance metrics. Using these estimates for planning and strategic decision-making can be problematic in dynamic systems. Most processes are variable in nature, which creates complexity when evaluating them. If you do not account for the variability inherent in systems, you limit the ability to understand and account for the system’s true performance and behavior. Conducting an analysis using only average value calculations may result in overestimating availability, capacity, and overall system performance while underestimating utilization, waiting time, and cost. Making judgments based on incomplete information or partial system behavior may result in flawed analysis and lead to poor decision making.

Arena and discrete event simulation allows you to easily account for the stochastic (variable and random) nature of processes. It allows to you to emulate true system behavior by utilizing statistical distributions that the processes and systems have shown to mimic through distribution curve fitting. The simulation can then randomly sample those distributions to create events into the system (e.g., customer arrival, failure events, etc.) or the duration of an individual event (e.g., process time, failure downtime, etc.). These events are then “scheduled,” allowing you to look at how the system performs over time. The power of simulation lets you account for these event interactions and evaluate what effect these events and interaction of events have on the true performance of the system.

♦ What are the differences in the Arena packages?

The Arena product family is designed to help users to meet their modeling needs at multiple levels of functionality and price.

The flagship product, Arena Professional Edition, provides the ultimate in functionality and flexibility to meet the needs of any simulation problem. Systems, regardless of complexity, can be represented and custom performance metrics may be measured and tracked. This is accomplished using the base Arena templates (Basic Process, Advanced Process, and Advanced Transfer) as well as the primitive building blocks available in the Blocks and Elements templates. Should your system include semi-continuous processes, the Flow template can help you effectively represent your system. This minimizes any simulation bounds your organization may face. The Professional Edition also includes the functionality of OptQuest, for optimizing systems, as well as the additional capability of object and template development.

The Enterprise Suite offers the full power of Professional Edition with the added tools of 3D animation and the specialized templates that are effective for high-speed packaging operations (Packaging) as well as contact center operations (Contact Center). These tools may also be added to the Professional Edition, depending on customer requirements.

Other offerings include the Standard Edition, Basic Edition Plus, and Basic Edition packages. The Standard Edition is a versatile package, able to solve simulation problems encountered in an array of industries and systems. This edition includes the base Arena templates (Basic Process, Advanced Process, and Advanced Transfer). The Basic Edition Plus permits the modeling of high-level business processes with the addition of station routing and other material-handling capabilities. The Basic Edition is a solid introductory tool for high-level business processes.

All of these items are scalable as your system requirements and skills dictate. For further clarification, please contact your local Arena representative.