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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. Lean and Six Sigma practitioners are also traditional Arena users. 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 hardware and software requirements for Arena?

The hardware and software requirements are detailed in this document.

♦ Does Arena support running on virtual servers?

No. To prevent activations from failing unexpectedly at runtime, users should not lock activations to virtual network adapters, such as those used for virtual private networks (VPN) or virtual machines. Instead, lock activations to the Host IDs of fixed devices such as hardware network adapters or hard disk serial numbers. Tying an activation to a virtual network adapter is problematic because there's no guarantee that the MAC ID of a virtual network adapter will be the same each time the virtual machine is powered on.

♦ 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 right on our homepage. In case you missed it, go to the home page of the website and simply click the Download Arena Now button!

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

♦ How do I activate my Arena product?

Here is a step-by-step guide to activating your Arena software. However, we recommend that you view this brief instructional video before getting started.

♦ How does Arena compare to other simulation packages?

We do not comment directly on other software packages. Our focus remains on delivering robust, useful, and advanced improvements to Arena and sharing with you all the great things about it and why it continues to be the market-leading discrete-event simulation software!

Flowchart Modeling – Document your process as you build your model. No complex programming, every business rule can be modeled using our intuitive flowchart modules.

Flexibility – If you can describe it, you can model it. When surveyed, 100% of our customers rated flexibility as a top reason for choosing Arena over other packages.

Extensive User Base – More simulation professionals and academic institutions use Arena than any other simulation tool. You can see for yourself. Attend the Winter Simulation Conference (www.wintersim.org), regarded as the premier conference for simulation professionals. You will find that year over year more papers and simulation presentations reference Arena than any other tool.

Reference Material – Arena advice and support is easy to find. We are the most well-ducumented simulation software package on the market. Some recommended texts include - Simulation With Arena (Kelton, Sadowski, Swets), Applied Simulation Modeling (Seila, Ceric, Tadikamalla) Simulation Modeling and Analysis with Arena (Altiok, Melamed), Process Analysis and Improvements (Seppanen, Kumar, Chandra), Simulation Modeling and Arena (Rossetti) Healthcare Operations: Quantitative Methods for Quality and Performance Improvement (McLaughlin), Dynamic Capacity Management for Healthcare (Story). Check out the Solutions tab on our website for industry-specific success stories.

Don’t take our word for it though, download Arena today and see the Arena difference for yourself!

♦ 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.

View our product comparison chart for additional details.

♦ I love the new features in the latest release of Arena. What can I expect in the future?

We just introduced the Arena Visual Designer tool. This new tool provides users with a sneak preview of the beginning migration of the new Arena graphical user interface. These changes promise enhanced flexibility, ease of use and best of breed visualization using the most advanced software development technology. Not to worry, Arena’s trusted simulation engine, familiar modeling paradigm and foundation will remain! We encourage you to contact your local software representative for additional information.

♦ We have an older version of Arena. Can we upgrade an old license?

Yes, older licenses can be upgraded to the current version of Arena. Please contact your local software representative for additional details.

♦ Can the current version of Arena run a model I built 10 years ago?

Unfortunately, it is not always possible to open older models in the current version of Arena. We presently support opening models built in Arena 10 or later. It is recommended that you maintain your Arena license and corresponding models. Please contact your local software representative for additional details.

♦ How do I rehost my software license when I receive software updates?

First, view a brief video on rehosting your software license.

Here is the rehost information for the Arena Maintenance Update Notice (PN-71373) Software updates will require a rehost of your current license. To rehost your Arena license:

1. Open the FactoryTalk Activation Tool (Start/Programs/Rockwell Software/FactoryTalk Activation/FactoryTalk Activation Tool)
a. If rehosting on a server, make sure that no Arena users are currently using the software and stop the service via that Settings Tab of the FactoryTalk ActivationTool.

2. Click on the Rehost Activations Tab. Select any one (many will be listed, just select one) of the Arena Product activations listed in the window and then press the Rehost button. Write down the Rehost Code, Serial Number and Host ID.

At this point:
3. Reset your license by doing the following:
a. Go to https://licensing.software.rockwell.com
b. On the left side of the screen is the option Rehost Activations, select this option.
c. Fill in the Rehost Activations fields with the information from your computer (Rehost Code, Serial Number and Host ID from step 2).
d. Click the Rehost button to complete the rehost procedure.
e. The activation is now available for download from the Rockwell Software Activation website. Use your serial number and new product key to download your current license file using the Get activations tab in the Factory Talk Activation tool.

You may also contact Arena Support with your Rehost code to rehost the activation.