Simulation of Network Performance using OPNET Simulator

OPNET network simulator is a powerful tool used for monitoring and analyzing network performance, identifying unauthorized activity, and troubleshooting issues. It can be used for operational validation, application troubleshooting, network planning and design, protocol modeling, traffic modeling, and evaluating the performance of complex software systems. OPNET simulates routing, multicast routing protocols, and TCP medium traffic on wired, wireless, and TCP mediums. Its characteristic includes customizable text-based applications, link specification features, protocol handling, programming-oriented tool, and visualization capabilities.

Assignment
On
Topic:-
Network Simulation by the OPNET Network Simulator
Submitted by:-
Name:-
Registration No:-
Date:-
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Contents
Project Journal ......................................................................................................................................2
Aim:-......................................................................................................................................................3
Introduction:-........................................................................................................................................3
Network simulator types...................................................................................................................3
Network simulator:-..............................................................................................................................4
OPNET network simulator:-...................................................................................................................5
Benefits of OPNET simulator:-...........................................................................................................7
Use of OPNET simulator...................................................................................................................8
Cybersecurity:-.................................................................................................................................10
Comparison of network simulators.................................................................................................10
Characteristic of OPNET Simulation tool..........................................................................................10
Insight of OPNET simulation tool.....................................................................................................11
Simulation termination:-.................................................................................................................11
OPNET example on wireless communication:.................................................................................12
Conclusion:-.........................................................................................................................................13
Reference:-..........................................................................................................................................13
Project Journal
SL No Date Task Status
1 13-04-2018 Introduction to
Network
simulator
Completed
2 13-04-2018 Comparison of
network
simulators
Completed
3 13-04-2018 Insight of OPNET
simulation tool
Completed
4 13-04-2018 OPNET example
on wireless
communication:
Completed
5 13-04-2018 Network
simulator types
Completed
6 13-04-2018 Characteristic of Completed
2

OPNET Simulation
tool
7 13-04-2018 Benefits of
OPNET
simulator:-
Completed
8 13-04-2018 Use of OPNET
simulator
Completed
Aim:-
In this assignment we will do a research analysis on network simulators. We will address the
types of network simulator with its features, process, characteristics, benefit and limitation.
Introduction:-
The development stage of OPNET was started in 1986 by ML3 Inc., then it was under the
name of OPNET technologies ltd and currently it is with Riverbed said in OPNET IS NOW
PART OF RIVERBED STEELCENTRAL™ (2018). It is one of the powerful modelling
software which can be used for simulation of networks. The initial concept to develop this
tool is to support military person but now it has become of the commercial simulation tool.
But it can be used by student for educational purpose without any cost; however it is
expensive for the commercial use. It has high level user interface and its interface build from
C and C++ programming languages. Its modelling process is divided in three main domains
which are, network domain, node domain and process domain.
Network simulator types
There are mainly two types of network simulator
1. Open source network simulator
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In open source network simulator it provides free source code for users and affiliated
packages.
2. Commercial network simulator
In case of commercial network simulator it is not possible to get source code for affiliated
packages without any cost.
There are mainly two types of simulation method, which are analytical simulation and
discrete simulation. OPNET works on discrete simulation method. Simulation tool is used to
remove the limitation of scalability where users can make network by adding and removing
tools, and can analyze the behaviour, but in case of real time system it needs to be installed
and checked which do not have any option of analyzing the behaviour without
implementation. Although there is no limit in the number of devices used for simulation
purpose. One of the limitation of using simulation tools is that it do not have credibility
which means it cannot guarantee about the flawless behaviour of the system in real world.
Network simulator:-
Network simulator is a device which allows users to check their software or program before
its launch. It can be used for research purpose so that user can compare the expected
behaviour of the software program or application. In computer network, simulators help to
compare the position of routers, modems, wireless devices and many more. It allows users to
change their systematic diagram and their position until they get the expected result. The
benefit by using network simulators is that sometime it helps users to save cost of
implementation if it I failed due to any reason.
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OPNET network simulator:-
OPNET is one of the network simulators which are used to provide application solutions to
the industry. OPNET is now part of Riverbed. It helps to monitor application performance. It
helps to analyze the behavior of the network. It helps in simulation with effective versatility
and power usage. The most important thing about OPNET network simulator is that it helps
to working possibly with OSI 7 layers interactions. With this simulator users can modify
physical parameters of the OSI 7 payers.
OPNET simulator is the upcoming version of OPNET modeller which has beat the various
issue related to network simulators. OPNET has come across the idea to help researchers,
students and academicians to simplify their task of simulation. In OPNET modeller the
expected changes was to include Ipv4 and Ipv6 addressing and that features came in the
modified version called OPNET. Only thing which user cannot do with simulator is that they
cannot compare the performance of Ad hoc network and vehicular network. Its modeller
support discrete event simulation process too. It is different than time clocked simulation.
The difference between time clocked simulation and discrete simulation is that in time clock
simulation the simulation process will take place according the time which has been set by
user. In case of discrete event simulation, the simulation process will take place in a sequence
and also it will make a schedule for next possible event. The ability to provide hybrid
simulation feature make it unique than other simulators and that’s why it is capable of
holding background traffic and explicit traffic. Background traffic calculates the requirement
of power and memory and accordingly it plan the simulation process. The explicit traffic
determines the flow of packets in the network. Apart from OPNET Network simulator 2 and
network simulator 3 only support explicit traffic.
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OPNET provided so many editors to the users so that they can design there network. It is
used for modelling and simulation of network. Apart from editor it provide graphical user
interface also for the easy understanding of simulation process. Most of the simulation done
in project editor. The common editor for OPNET is as follows,
1. Link editor
It is used to define the link of the model. It is represented with the physical connection
between the nodes. At the time of physical connection we have to define channel route,
propagation delay, error detection, error correction, data rate, and error model.
2. Packet editor
3. Probe editor
4. ICI editor
It is used to define the internal structure of the interface control information which also
further tells about the interruption process during simulation.
5. Node editor
It is used to create and edit the internal structure of the node which can be composed of
several modules. The main use of modules is to transmit, store, receive, route and process
the packets. Modes can be belonging to switch, router, PC or network.
6. Packet format editor
It is used to design the network for the transmission of packet. Packet can be of two type
formatted packet and unformatted packet. When we know the destination of the packet
then formatted packet is being used. In case of dummy packet we use unformatted packet.
Generally it allows users to do various operations with the packet.
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7. Project editor
It helps to create and edit network. It also helps to manage network scenarios. Once it
finished creating or editing network further step is to configure network topology. It
verifies link connectivity also manage network traffic.
8. Process editor
It is used to write algorithms and protocols so that the code can be implemented to the
network.
Benefits of OPNET simulator:-
 It is considered to be best simulation tool that OMINET, NS2, because of the many
advantages by OPNET. It supports to establish many networks at a time, with the
layers of interaction.
 NS2 is also considered as best simulation tool but only demerit it has that for
simulation it loads coding part which is very complex to use. This coding part is being
avoided in OPNET and that’s why it is considered as best simulation too.
 It supports many model families which can be working over wireless network to
establish the communication.
 It has drag drop approach which makes its interface simple. Users can just drag the
objects and put it in network diagram, which makes easy building of diagram.
 Once user is finished drawing network diagram using drag and drop approach they
can configure it based on the requirements.
 The simulation process includes three major tasks, preparing the diagram, checking its
consistency and then process to simulation for results.
 It does not matter that we are going to create wired or wireless network steps for
simulation process will be same, which make its use simple and easy.
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 It also provides latest network topology to users so that they can use the simulation
tool with flexibility. Some latest network topology are, Zigbee network, mobile Ad
hoc network, wireless mesh network.
 It is open source free software.
Use of OPNET simulator
Today’s world completely depends upon internet of thing. Most of us are connected with
internet to access information, for education, entertainment and business purpose. Due to
ultimate features of network, internet and communication number of users are increasing
every day. Due to increased number of users there is a peak rise of threat activities too. This
has further increased the establishment of powerful network which is difficult to break.
That’s why administrator and developer are more focused on creating powerful and rigid
network which is difficult to break. Network simulations tools work as a monitoring tool
which helps to monitor the unauthorized activity too. There are various network simulators in
market but what need a best one which is simple to use and provide advance features.
OPNET network simulator is one of those simulation tool which is helpful in analyzing
performance and monitoring the network to check if any breakdown is available in the
network for hackers or not. Some of the common usage of OPNET simulator is,
1. It is used for operational validation
Suppose any new company is about to set its operations then they can analyzed the expected
behaviour with the operational validation method. In this process equipment’s and devices
are placed in network diagram and it is being simulated to analyze the outcome. It helps to
save the cost after implementation if it is not successful.
2. It can be used for application troubleshooting.
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When the network diagram is placed in OPNET it can be helpful in troubleshooting the issue.
In case any application is not working it can be used to find out the possible reasons to find
its solution.
3. It can be used for network planning and design
It is very much helpful in planning network design for any small to large office, business, or
institutions.
4. It is used to validate hardware architecture.
Sometime it can be used for the validation of hardware architecture so that if any new devices
are required users can analyze with its result.
5. It can be used in protocol modelling,
It can be used in protocol modelling which means to compare the OSI 7 layer interactions and
its behaviour for any pre build network design.
6. It can be used to model traffic for telecommunication network
Suppose we are unable to analyze the traffic from network, before implementation then
OPNET simulator can be used to model the traffic for any type of telecommunication
network.
7. It can be used to evaluate performance for complex software systems
When we are into design of complex system then we often feel afraid about its behaviour, in
that case simulation tools can help to analyze its performance.
OPNET simulator (2018)
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Cybersecurity:-
It is the process of securing network, or network devices from unauthorized access or threat
activities. When any hacker get into the network they can try to steal important information,
data, card details, user personal information for personal use or to exploit the organization or
it may damage the complete work process of any company or web. This is possible only if the
network is weak or there is any loop for hackers to get in. To insure optimum strength of the
network simulation tool helps in analyzing the break down or any weak portion of the
network before its implementation.
Comparison of network simulators
Name Type Language
used
Visualization Energy model extension
NS2 generic C++, otcl yes yes mannasim
OMNET++ generic C++,ned yes yes Mixim,
castalia
OPNET generic C,c++ yes yes Commercial
software
TOSSIM specific Nesc, python
c++
no no
In the above table we have analyzed the compariosn between different simulation tools. We
have discussed its programming langage which is to be used in the simulation tool, and
OPNET works on c and C++ programming language from Mishra, V. (2018).
OPNET can be ussed for simuation of routing, multicast routing protoocl for wired, wireless
and TCP medium and it works on the laguage of C, C++ and OTCL.
Characteristic of OPNET Simulation tool
The major characteristic of OPNET simulators are,
1. It can be used for making traffic specification among nodes.
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2. It is one of the customized text based application.
3. It has link specification features for the nodes.
4. It specifies protocol so that it can handle the network traffic.
5. It is one of the programming oriented tools.
6. It helps to visualize network graphic applications.
Insight of OPNET simulation tool
Above presented image is the example of OPNET, network performance. The network design
is being created in OPNET with the help of editor and drag and drop approach and its
performance is being analyzed before implementation.
Simulation termination:-
The simulation process executes in four ways.
1. When the event list is empty.
2. Duration for simulation attributes expires.
3. In case of fatal error.
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4. When the process call for termination with the help of op_sim_end()
OPNET example on wireless communication:
Communication is defined as the transferring information between two or more destination. It
works on the propagation of electromagnetic waves. Intrusion detection system is used to
identify that any unauthorized user has access the network, in past or present or have
compromised the network details or not. OPNET simulator can be used to analyze the
performance of IDS such that it gives information about the user who tried to do any
unauthorized access in WLAN’s network
Above presented image is the network diagram for IDS. It can be used for the detection of
fooding and disassociation attempts before it happen really. It can be helpful in identifying
the physical location of the wireless devices in building or nearby ground. It also detects the
unauthorized access which is not analyzed in wired network. Sometime we are unable to
detect any unauthorized access in wired network due to its complex set up and appearance.
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Conclusion:-
In this research project we have analyzed the various facts related to network simulator. We
have discussed one of the network simulation tool-OPNET. OPNET is one of the powerful
software which is used for network simulation. It has capability of creating interaction
between OSI layers. It is available free of cost for learners however it is expensive for
commercial use. We have discussed the limitation, benefit, comparison with other simulation
tools above. In short if you want to analyze your network design you can use OPNET which
is very simple to use because of drag and drop approach. We have also addressed some
common threat in network and its solution. Cybersecurity is identified as one of the serious
attack in the network which needs to be addressed as soon as it predicts. There are various
policy and guidelines too which is taken to observe whether network is designed according to
that meet best quality. Due to increased number of users the traffic in network can increase
and for the smooth performance from the network setup it is very important to remove the
traffic or to divert it to the free available devices. All these activities can be possible with the
help of OPNET network simulator. So, when you go through this document you can
understand the areas where we can use the simulation technique.
Reference:-
Mishra, V. (2018). Analysis and comparison of different network simulators.
Pdfs.semanticscholar.org. Retrieved 13 April 2018, from
https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/05a1/5335618b7b495cee60d650f224c8c64a80d2.pdf
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OPNET IS NOW PART OF RIVERBED STEELCENTRAL™. (2018). Riverbed.
Retrieved 13 April 2018, from
https://www.riverbed.com/in/products/steelcentral/opnet.html
OPNET Network Simulator - Opnet Projects. (2018). Opnet Projects. Retrieved 13 April
2018, from http://opnetprojects.com/opnet-network-simulator/
OPNET simulator. (2018). Users.salleurl.edu. Retrieved 13 April 2018, from
http://users.salleurl.edu/~zaballos/opnet_interna/pdf/OPNET%20Simulator.pdf
OPNET TUTORIAL | OPNET TUTORIAL FOR BEGINNERS. (2018). Opnet Projects.
Retrieved 13 April 2018, from http://opnetprojects.com/opnet-tutorial/
Rampf, S. (2018). Network Simulation and its Limitations. Net.in.tum.de. Retrieved 13
April 2018, from https://www.net.in.tum.de/fileadmin/TUM/NET/NET-2013-08-1/NET-
2013-08-1_08.pdf
Simulation tool: OPNET modeler and its importance. (2018). 1000 Projects. Retrieved 13
April 2018, from http://1000projects.org/simulation-tool-opnet-modeler-and-its-
importance.html
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