Quantitative analysis of real-time systems

The problems of time-dependent behavior in general, and dynamic resource allocation in particular, pervade many aspects of modern life. Prominent examples range from relia-bility and efficient use of communication re-sources in a telecommunication network to the allocation of tracks in a continental rail-way network, from scheduling the usage of computational resources on a chip for dura-tions of nano-seconds to the weekly, monthly or longer range reactive planning in a factory or a supply chain. But how can we model, analyze or even optimize such problems in an efficient manner