Can I speed up my Simulink simulations using Parallel Computing Toolbox 4.0 (R2008b) ?

I am looking to use Parallel Computing Toolbox 4.0 (R2008b) to speed up my Simulink simulations. What is the workflow in integrating Parallel Computing Toolbox and Simulink? What kind of performance increase should I expect?

Answer 1

[MathWorks Support Team]

The Parallel Computing Toolbox 4.0 (R2008b) can be used with Simulink 7.2 (R2008b) to increase Simulink performance for certain scenarios.

Typical Use Cases:

1. Batch simulations

A typical use case would be users who need to simulate the Simulink model several times with different parameters.

Users with extra computing power, can take advantage by starting multiple simulations on different computer cores.

2. Simulink Design Optimization

Users who need to determine the optimal parameters for their Simulink Model, can use one of MATLAB's optimization algorithms in conjunction with Parallel Computing Toolbox.

This workflow is similar to batch simulation with more focus on optimization and integration with other MATLAB functionality.

3. Model Referencing

One use case is to distribute the building of SimTargets and Real-Time Workshop code generation.

A demo is available here:

https://blogs.mathworks.com/simulink/2009/03/31/parallel-computing-with-simulink-model-reference-builds/

Things to Note:

The Parallel Computing Toolbox is not designed to speed up a single Simulink simulation. The calculations internal to the Simulink blocks will not be serialized and distributed across multiple workers.