Comparison of network simulation software

Network simulation software classification and performance comparison

Open source network simulation software

1. NS-2（network simulator-2）

   Official website: https://www.isi.edu/nsnam/ns/

   NS (Network Simulator) originated from the Real Network Simulator project of the US military in 1989 and is one of the earliest network simulators. NS-2 is a relatively mature version of NS.

2. NS-3 (network simulator-2): An upgraded version of NS-2

   Official website: https://www.nsnam.org/

   NS-2	NS-3
   Open source	Open source
   Difficult user-defined models	User-defined models are easy
   A large number of user contribution tools	A small number of user contribution tools
   Bilingual programming (C ++, Otcl)	Single language writing (C ++)
   High programming skills	Moderate programming requirements
   Existing models support a large number of protocols	Existing models support a small number of protocols

3. J-SIM

   Official website: https://www.physiome.org/jsim/

   A research team at Ohio State University developed it in Java.

   J-SIM complies with the BSD License and anyone can download it for research or commercial use free of charge .

   Since the Java language does not have problems such as memory leakage and misreading, the stability is also significantly better than NS2 .

   J-SIM provides some examples and explanations of small networks, but the lack of guidance documents for large simulations makes it difficult for users to get good support for complex network development.

4. JiST/SWANS（Java in simulation time）（Scalable Wireless ad Hoc Network Simulator）

   Official website: http://jist.ece.cornell.edu/

   The biggest feature of JiST / SWANS is its high efficiency , which has advantages in speed and memory consumption compared to other types of simulation platforms.

   

5. Mininet

   Official website: http://mininet.org/

   In 2010, the virtual network simulation platform developed by the University of Standford based on the Linux operating system is currently the mainstream SDN simulation platform.

   Mininet has good scalability, and its lightweight structure makes it easy to simulate a network with thousands of nodes on a host, and can verify and test a complete network including hosts, links, switches, etc. system. Mininet also has good portability . Because it is completely based on the Linux kernel development, its programs can be transplanted to other Linux hosts, and other Linux programs can also be run in the Mininet environment. However, Mininet's central processing unit (CPU) cycle is shared by the virtual host, virtual switch, and controller, and the CPU scheduler cannot accurately control the scheduling order. Therefore, the accuracy of Mininet's simulation results is not high enough and difficult to reproduce .

6. GTNets（Georgia Tech Network Simulator）

   Official website: http://griley.ece.gatech.edu/MANIACS/GTNetS/

   GTNetS is an object-oriented distributed and efficient network simulation platform written in C ++ by Georgia Institute of Technology.

7. SSFNet（Scalable simulation framework network models）

   Official website: http://www.ssfnet.org/homePage.html

   SSFNet is a set of components based on Java SSF (Simple seam framework) for Internet protocol and network structure simulation.It is mainly used to simulate network models above the IP layer.It has good scalability.The physical layer and link layer can be Simulate in separate components.

   SSFNet pays special attention to memory occupation when designing, so resource consumption is relatively small . At the same time, it has an effective thread scheduler and memory-to-memory message passing mechanism, which can realize parallel processing, so it supports a larger number of nodes . However, SSFNet lacks support for users 'extended tools, and it is not easy to analyze the results , which poses obstacles to users' use.

8. OMNet++（Objective Modular Network Testbed）

   Official website: https://omnetpp.org/

   Not specifically designed for network systems.

9. GlomoSim

   A library-based parallel simulation software developed by the Parallel Computing Laboratory of the University of California, Los Angeles, is mainly used to simulate wireless networks. After the 2.0 version was released in 2000, it will no longer be updated, and the commercial version QualNet is now launched.

Commercial network simulation software

1. QualNet

   It was first introduced by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1986 and has now developed into a widely used commercial discrete event simulator.

   Official website: https://www.scalable-networks.com/products/qualnet-network-simulation-software-tool/

2. OPEN

   Official website: http://opnetprojects.com/opnet-network-simulator/

   OPNET Modeler is an important member of the four major network simulation products of the US OPNET Technology company. It is mainly developed for network design professionals who need large-scale and complex network simulations. The function is very powerful.

3. EstiNet

   Official website: https://www.estinet.com/ns/

   EstiNet is a commercial OpenFlow network emulator developed by Taiwan-based SDN solution provider EstiNet (EstiNet).

References

1. http://networksimulationtools.com/

2. Yang Linyao, Han Shuangshuang, Wang Xiao, Li Yuke, Wang Feiyue. Network system experiment platform: development status and prospects [J] .Journal of Automation, 2019,45 (09): 1637-1654.

3. Wang Guomin, Liu Ling. Analysis of three common network simulation software [J] .Enterprise Technology Development, 2015,34 (32): 88 + 90.

4. Hu Bo, Fan Gensheng, Wang Ruchuan.Study on using J-SIM to simulate wireless sensor network [J] .Computer Technology and Development, 2008 (06): 167-170.

5. Hou Zonghao, Wang Bingkang, Huang Yongxiang. Research on network simulation [J]. Computer Simulation, 2003,20 (10): 89-91,136. DOI: 10.3969 / j.issn.1006-9348.2003.10.029.