TNET : a C# network simulator

Abstract

In today's world we rely on Wide Area Networks (WANs) for our everyday computing needs. Unfortunately WAN technology is inherently difficult to test due to the cost and size of such networks thus researchers often resort to network simulators for testing new technologies. Network simulators help researchers understand better the unpredictable behaviour of these WANs and the protocols within them. Network simulators can also help researchers test new protocols in a closed environment and help organisations make the best use of their limited bandwidth. Network simulators can also be of benefit to students studying networking technologies and are invaluable tools for network engineers for "what if" scenarios. In this dissertation we implement a discrete event finite population network simulator in the C# programming language. This choice of language allows us to determine whether the .NET framework is a viable platform for computationally intensive applications. It also allows us to develop an object-oriented simulator which is easily extensible in terms of its functionality, its network components and the protocols used. We provide a network simulator that can be used both as a teaching tool for students of networking as well as a testbed for internetwork and routing protocols. This is achieved through an integrated GUI which controls all aspects of the simulator, removing the need for the user to learn new scripting languages in order to design networks and control simulation execution. Additionally to produce accurate results while also simulating network scenarios in a short amount of time we allow the user to determine the level of time step granularity in the simulator.