Stochastic Automata Networks ( SAN ) - Modellingand

This article describes the use of Stochastic Automata Networks (SAN) as a modelling tool. A SAN model consists of some individual stochastic automata that act more or less independently of each other. An automata is represented by a number of states and probabilistic rules that govern the manner in which it moves from one state to the next. The state of a SAN is given by the state of each of its constituent automata. Although, any SAN model can be converted in a standard Markov chain where traditional solving methods can be applied, numerical solutions using the particular SAN properties can give faster results.