In
advanced technical systems, it is cost effective and efficient to recreate the
operation and behavior rather than building the original one for training and
other secondary purposes. Complexity also requires alternatives in many systems
for study and investigation purposes. In any scenario, emulators or simulators
are used to achieve these goals.
Emulator
In
computing and electronics, an emulator is considered as a software or hardware
which can imitate (duplicate) the behavior and functionality of different
software within another software/hardware platform. In emulation, only the
behavior and functionality are considered, but the internal mechanisms used to
recreate this may be different from the original.
Consider
the virtual computers that can be created within a computer using specified
software such as Virtual Box or VMWare. Installed on a windows environment, this
software can create virtual computers to emulate Linux, Solaris, Mac, or any
other operating system. In this case, both hardware and software are emulated
by the emulator software but, in general, emulator can be used for emulating
hardware or software individually.
Emulators
allow different software/hardware to be experienced or employed on a single
platform without the original system requirements; therefore, allowing cheaper
alternatives in many digital level scenarios. Even though the initial
development costs may be high, an emulator can be very cost efficient over a
long term due to its versatility.
Even
though the emulators are very useful in modern digital environment, copyright
and intellectual property laws may create difficulties.
Simulator
In a
broader sense, simulator is a device that imitates the operation of another
device. Consider a flight simulator used for training student pilots. In a
flight simulator, the operation and the performance of an aircraft is
recreated.
Simulation
techniques and simulators are used over a broad range of applications and
disciplines such as training and education, meteorology, physics, electronics,
economics and finance, defense systems, and many more.
In a
simulator, the operation of a targeted system is recreated to the best
possible. The underlying mechanisms used to recreate the scenario may be the
same or different from the original. Simulation of a race car (and most
vehicles) is based on the actual vehicle hardware, to make the experience more
realistic. On the other hand, a financial simulation depends completely on the
mathematical model on which the scenario is based upon.
What is
the difference between Emulator and Simulator?
•
Emulators are imitating or duplicating the process of another software/hardware
within another environment. The underlying mechanisms are different from the
original software/hardware.
•
Emulation is mainly used in computing and electronics.
•
Simulators are used to recreate the operation or behavior of a system. The
underlying principles can be same as the original or different. Simulators are
used in a wider spectrum of fields than computing and electronics.
Hi Hemanth,
ReplyDeleteIn the first line of simulators you are saying they are used to "imitate",however in the differences you have listed "imitation" for emulators.
Can you clarify ?
Thanks
This comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteIf you wan to understand in simplest terms, Simulation is done on all software whereas Emulation is done on all hardware (though both can be thought as to imitate our original system). Simulation duplicates the functionality of our system in almost all possible ways while emulation gives us insight to how our system will react to real time stimuli in real world conditions.
DeleteHope this helps.
Thanks Bro...
ReplyDeleteCan any one give a practical example of testing in simulator and testing in emulator. I dint get the above
ReplyDeletePractical example can be found in semiconductor industry. Most of the verification of silicon is done using simulation. Emulator(FPGA boards or Palladium) is used to develop software which we will be using on our Silicon, otherwise we will have to wait for silicon.
DeleteBasically many post silicon activities can be done on emulator. It thus helps to reduce design cycle (i.e. reduce time to market).
simulator is actually a device which is mimicking the process and the output whilst getting a similar input from a MMI ( man machine interface) as the original...whilst emulator is designed to just give a simmilar output as the original device ...the process what generates the output may be totally different than the original in an emulator... emulators are generally used to test systems...whilst simulators are generally used to train on systems
ReplyDeletea practical example would be a flight simulator designed to train the pilots....within the system there would be a navigation or altimeter emulator..which would just give a data output depending on the profile of the system
ReplyDelete