How to Implement Network Testing Protocol in ns2

To implement a Network Testing Protocol using the simulator NS2 that normally has needs to include simulating scenarios in which we estimate the network performance according to various parameters like throughput, latency, jitter, packet loss, etc. Whereas, “Network Testing Protocol” isn’t a particular standard protocol, we can create a testing scenario in the NS2 to assess network performance by generating a traffic patterns and evaluate the outcomes. Below, we showed the simple approach on how we can simulate a basic network testing protocol using NS2:

Steps to Implement a Network Testing Protocol in NS2

  1. Set Up NS2 Environment
    • Make sure NS2 is installed and appropriately set up on the system.
  2. Design the Network Topology
    • Decide on the network topology we need to analyse with the number of nodes, link capacities, delays, and any other network parameters.
  3. Generate Traffic Patterns
    • Select the kinds of traffic we need to replicate like TCP, UDP, VoIP, etc. and make an application traffic which will investigate the network’s performance.
  4. Set Up Simulation Metrics
    • State that what metrics we need to calculate like throughput, latency, jitter, packet loss, etc. The simulator NS2 can output this metrics via trace files.
  5. Create a Basic Network Testing Simulation in NS2

Given below is an example OTcl script that mimics a network and calculates the simple performance metrics:

# Define the simulation environment

set ns [new Simulator]

# Open the trace file for recording data

set tracefile [open out.tr w]

$ns trace-all $tracefile

# Define the finish procedure

proc finish {} {

global ns tracefile

$ns flush-trace

close $tracefile

exec nam out.nam &

exit 0

}

# Create network nodes

set node1 [$ns node]

set node2 [$ns node]

set node3 [$ns node]

set node4 [$ns node]

# Create links between the nodes

$ns duplex-link $node1 $node2 10Mb 10ms DropTail

$ns duplex-link $node2 $node3 5Mb 20ms DropTail

$ns duplex-link $node3 $node4 2Mb 30ms DropTail

# Create a TCP agent and attach it to node1

set tcp1 [new Agent/TCP]

$ns attach-agent $node1 $tcp1

# Create a TCP Sink agent and attach it to node4

set sink1 [new Agent/TCPSink]

$ns attach-agent $node4 $sink1

# Connect the TCP agent and TCP Sink

$ns connect $tcp1 $sink1

# Create an FTP application over TCP and start it

set ftp1 [new Application/FTP]

$ftp1 attach-agent $tcp1

$ns at 0.5 “$ftp1 start”

# Create a UDP agent and attach it to node2

set udp1 [new Agent/UDP]

$ns attach-agent $node2 $udp1

# Create a UDP Sink agent and attach it to node3

set sink2 [new Agent/Null]

$ns attach-agent $node3 $sink2

# Connect the UDP agent and UDP Sink

$ns connect $udp1 $sink2

# Create a CBR application over UDP and start it

set cbr1 [new Application/Traffic/CBR]

$cbr1 attach-agent $udp1

$cbr1 set packetSize_ 512

$cbr1 set rate_ 1Mb

$ns at 1.0 “$cbr1 start”

$ns at 5.0 “$cbr1 stop”

# Stop the simulation at 10.0s

$ns at 10.0 “finish”

# Run the simulation

$ns run

  1. Explanation of the Script
    • Network Topology: The script configures a basic network including four nodes associated by duplex links with various bandwidths and latency.
    • Traffic Generation: It generates UDP traffic using a Constant Bit Rate (CBR) application and TCP traffic using an FTP application.
    • Metrics Collection: The trace file (out.tr) will record all events that we can estimate to extract the parameters such as throughput, delay, packet loss, etc.
    • Simulation Duration: The simulation is set to run for 10 seconds.
  2. Run the Simulation
    • We can save the OTcl script to a file such as network_testing.tcl.
    • Run the script using NS2:

ns network_testing.tcl

    • The simulation will generate a Network Animator (NAM) file (out.nam), and a trace file (out.tr). We can visualize the simulation using the NAM.
  2. Analyse the Results
    • Throughput: Measure throughput by examining the amount of data successfully transferred through the network when the simulation.
    • Delay: Compute the time it takes for the packets to travel from the sender to the receiver.
    • Jitter: Assess the difference in packet arrival times to calculate the network stability.
    • Packet Loss: Check how many packets are lost during transmission, which indicates the network reliability.
  3. Enhancements
    • QoS Testing: Execute the Quality of Service (QoS) analysis by prioritizing particular kinds of traffic or executing QoS policies such as Differentiated Services (DiffServ).
    • Variable Network Conditions: Replicate various network conditions like changing bandwidth, introducing congestion, or appending latency to specific links to monitor how the network behaves under stress.
    • Security Testing: Examine the network’s response to security threats such as Denial of Service (DoS) attacks by mimicking malicious traffic.
  4. Tools for Analyzing Trace Files
  • Trace Analysis Tools: We can use the tools such as awk, grep, or custom scripts to analyse the trace files and obtain the desired metrics.
  • Visualization: Tools such as NAM (Network Animator) helps to visualize the network performance during the simulation.

We performed a structured procedure on Network Testing protocol, employing the simulation tool ns2 for its implementation and analysed. If you require, more comprehensive details we will be provided.

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