How to Implement Network Collaboration Tools in NS2

To implement the network collaboration tools using NS2, we require to replicate an environment in which the users can be communicated, distributed data, and cooperate in real-time across the network. This collaboration tools typically encompass the file sharing, real-time communication (like chat or voice), and other interactive features. It can be approximate using traffic models, which denote its kinds of activities. Given below is a brief method on how to replicate the network collaboration tools in NS2.

Step-by-Step Implementation:

Key Aspects to Simulate:

  1. Chat: Replicated using small, frequent packets (TCP/UDP).
  2. File Sharing: Mimicked using larger packet transmissions (FTP over TCP).
  3. Voice Communication: Simulated using real-time traffic (UDP for real-time, low-latency communication).
  4. Multicast/Group Communication: If the collaboration contains the group meetings or delivered the document edits, multicast can be replicated to transfer the data to numerous nodes at once.

Example Tcl Script for Collaboration Tool Simulation:

# Create a new simulator instance

set ns [new Simulator]

# Define output trace file for analysis

set tracefile [open collaboration.tr w]

$ns trace-all $tracefile

# Define animation file for NAM visualization

set namfile [open collaboration.nam w]

$ns namtrace-all $namfile

# Define nodes (participants in the collaboration tool)

set n0 [$ns node]  # User 1

set n1 [$ns node]  # User 2

set n2 [$ns node]  # User 3 (if simulating a group collaboration)

# Create a duplex link between the nodes

$ns duplex-link $n0 $n1 5Mb 10ms DropTail

$ns duplex-link $n0 $n2 5Mb 10ms DropTail

# —————– Simulating Chat Communication ———————

# Define TCP agents for chat communication

set tcp_chat0 [new Agent/TCP]

$ns attach-agent $n0 $tcp_chat0

set tcp_chat1 [new Agent/TCPSink]

$ns attach-agent $n1 $tcp_chat1

# Connect chat TCP agents (simulate a chat session)

$ns connect $tcp_chat0 $tcp_chat1

# Define traffic generator for chat (small, frequent messages)

set chat_traffic [new Application/Traffic/CBR]

$chat_traffic attach-agent $tcp_chat0

$chat_traffic set packetSize_ 64          # Small packet size for chat messages

$chat_traffic set rate_ 64Kb              # Small bandwidth, similar to typing chat

$chat_traffic set interval_ 0.1           # Messages sent frequently (every 0.1 sec)

# Start chat traffic

$ns at 0.5 “$chat_traffic start”

$ns at 3.0 “$chat_traffic stop”

# —————– Simulating File Sharing ———————

# Define FTP traffic for file sharing

set tcp_file0 [new Agent/TCP]

$ns attach-agent $n0 $tcp_file0

set tcp_file1 [new Agent/TCPSink]

$ns attach-agent $n1 $tcp_file1

# Connect file sharing TCP agents

$ns connect $tcp_file0 $tcp_file1

# Define FTP traffic generator

set file_traffic [new Application/FTP]

$file_traffic attach-agent $tcp_file0

# Start file sharing traffic (simulate file upload/download)

$ns at 1.0 “$file_traffic start”

$ns at 5.0 “$file_traffic stop”

# —————– Simulating Voice Communication ———————

# Define UDP agents for voice communication (real-time audio)

set udp_voice0 [new Agent/UDP]

$ns attach-agent $n0 $udp_voice0

set udp_voice_sink [new Agent/Null]

$ns attach-agent $n1 $udp_voice_sink

# Connect UDP agents for voice communication

$ns connect $udp_voice0 $udp_voice_sink

# Define voice traffic generator (CBR traffic for voice)

set voice_traffic [new Application/Traffic/CBR]

$voice_traffic attach-agent $udp_voice0

$voice_traffic set packetSize_ 160         # Typical packet size for voice (G.711 codec)

$voice_traffic set rate_ 128Kb             # Bitrate for voice communication

$voice_traffic set interval_ 0.02          # 50 packets per second (simulate voice packets)

# Start voice traffic

$ns at 0.5 “$voice_traffic start”

$ns at 5.0 “$voice_traffic stop”

# —————– Optional: Simulate Group Collaboration with Multicast ———————

# Define UDP multicast agent (if multiple participants are communicating)

set udp_multicast0 [new Agent/UDP]

$ns attach-agent $n0 $udp_multicast0

set udp_multicast_sink1 [new Agent/Null]

$ns attach-agent $n1 $udp_multicast_sink1

set udp_multicast_sink2 [new Agent/Null]

$ns attach-agent $n2 $udp_multicast_sink2

# Connect multicast UDP agents

$ns connect $udp_multicast0 $udp_multicast_sink1

$ns connect $udp_multicast0 $udp_multicast_sink2

# Define multicast traffic generator

set multicast_traffic [new Application/Traffic/CBR]

$multicast_traffic attach-agent $udp_multicast0

$multicast_traffic set packetSize_ 1000    # Multicast larger packets for group communication

$multicast_traffic set rate_ 500Kb         # Group communication typically involves larger bandwidth

$multicast_traffic set interval_ 0.05      # Simulate frequent group data sharing

# Start multicast traffic

$ns at 1.0 “$multicast_traffic start”

$ns at 4.5 “$multicast_traffic stop”

# Schedule end of simulation

$ns at 6.0 “finish”

# Define the finish procedure

proc finish {} {

global ns tracefile namfile

$ns flush-trace

close $tracefile

close $namfile

exec nam collaboration.nam &

exit 0

}

# Run the simulation

$ns run

Explanation of the Script:

  1. Node Creation:
    • These three nodes are made to replicate the participants in a network collaboration. More nodes can append if required.
    • The duplex links among them have bandwidth (5Mb) and a delay (10ms) representing a usual collaboration network.
  2. Chat Simulation:
    • Chat traffic is replicated using TCP with CBR (Constant Bit Rate) traffic. The packet size is small (64 bytes), and the traffic rate is fix to 64Kb to mimic small and frequent message transmissions (similar to text chat).
  3. File Sharing Simulation:
    • File sharing is mimicked using FTP traffic across the TCP. The larger packet sizes and longer transmission durations are used to denote the upload or download of a file.
  4. Voice Communication Simulation:
    • The voice communication is replicated using UDP including CBR traffic. The packet size is set to 160 bytes, and the rate is set to 128Kb that normal for a voice call using a G.711 codec. The packet interval is fix to 0.02 seconds to denote the 50 voice packets each second.
  5. Group Communication (Multicast):
    • Group collaboration (e.g., document sharing or group calls) is replicated using the multicast UDP. The multicast traffic contains the larger packet sizes and higher data rates to replicate the distributing of real-time collaboration or content between numerous participants.
  6. Simulation Schedule:
    • Chat traffic begins at 0.5 seconds and ends at 3 seconds.
    • File sharing traffic starts at 1 second and stops at 5 seconds.
    • Voice communication starts at 0.5 seconds and ends at 5 seconds.
    • Multicast traffic starts at 1 second and stops at 4.5 seconds.
    • The simulation stops at 6 seconds.
  7. Finish Procedure:
    • The simulation ends including the trace and NAM files closed. The NAM visualization tool automatically opens to show the network activity.
  1. Running the Simulation

We can save the script as collaboration_simulation.tcl then run it in NS2:

ns collaboration_simulation.tcl

  1. Visualizing the Simulation in NAM

We can envision the network collaboration tool traffic in NAM by running:

nam collaboration.nam

It will display the flows among the participants, representing chat messages, file sharing, voice communication, and group multicast communication.

  1. Analysing the Output

The trace file (collaboration.tr) encompasses comprehensive data regarding the packet transmission, reception, and loss. We can estimate its information to compute:

  • Throughput: How much data is well transferred for file sharing, chat, voice, and multicast.
  • Latency: End-to-end delay experienced by packets in chat or voice communication.
  • Packet Loss: Vital for real-time voice and group communication to make sure that quality of service.
  1. Extending the Simulation
  • More Participants: We can append additional nodes and links to replicate the larger collaboration environments.
  • Packet Loss and Congestion: Launch the error models or background traffic to mimic in real-world conditions such as packet loss or congestion.
  • Security: We would be replicated the impacts of encryption or secure communication by appending the processing delays or packet size increases.
  • Multiple File Transfers: Mimic the concurrent file transfers to evaluate the network load.

Network Collaboration Tools was addressed through methodical process, replicated and assessed with the help of the simulation tool NS2. Further exploration of this topic will be presented as requests.

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