Hybrid approach for experimental networking research

Abstract

Simulation is often used for the evaluation of new network protocols and architectures. In order to perform more realistic simulations, modern simulators such as ns-3 integrate more detailed models and even support direct execution of real protocol code. However, such complex models require more computational and memory requirements. In this paper, we study the feasibility of a hybrid approach based on distributing a complex simulation scenario on several nodes in a grid network. We show that by exploiting the real time operation of the ns-3 simulator, it is possible to map such complex scenarios on grid nodes. We run experiments to define the operational zone in which the obtained results are accurate. We also propose a basic mapping algorithm to distribute a simulation scenario in several nodes. © 2012 Springer-Verlag.