Systems and methods that efficiently simulate controlled systems are presented. A simulation management component (SMC) controls simulation of a controlled system by controlling a desired number of nodes, each comprising a controller (e.g., soft controller) and a simulated component or process, which are part of the controlled system. The simulation can be performed in a step-wise manner, wherein the simulation can comprise a desired number of steps of respectively desired lengths of time. For each step, the SMC dynamically selects a desired clock (e.g., currently identified slowest clock) as a master clock for the next step. The SMC predicts a length of time of the next step to facilitate setting a desired length of time for the next step based in part on the predicted length of time. As part of each step, components can synchronously exchange data via intra-node or inter-node connections to facilitate simulation.