If you're a designer, engineer, or researcher who works with complex communications systems, this landmark guide will show you how to describe, model, and measure trade-offs at the architectural level, where specs are first translated into designs - and at the synthesis level, where designs are translated into executable code. Filled with insider details on the latest research and implementations, the book presents a systems approach to modeling and examines key elements of design specification languages and their synthesis to HDLs. It reveals and examines leading-edge techniques and through published research and real-world results demystifies a critical path in the design cycle. This book defines a unique modeling tool and takes you through an introduction to modeling languages and paradigms, the definition of a specification language (DSL) for architectural design, the application of Predicate (Petri) nets to the analysis of complex systems, a unified framework for the design of complex systems, and the application of simulation environments to a useful design framework. You'll also find in-depth case studies from the telecommunications field, covering ATM switching, design of a voice switch, fault-tolerant protocols over a network, and more.