NetSim Network Emulator

NetSim Network Emulator enables users to connect NetSim simulator to real hardware running live applications ( Video, Voice, File Transfer, Email, etc.). This is also termed as System-in-the-Loop (SITL). With NetSim emulator physical hardware and a simulation can interact as a unified system.

As shown in the figure above the configuration is real-sim-real with simulation sync’ed to wall clock. The simulation is used as a transit network in which datagrams experience simulated network effects.

NetSim Network Emulator can be used for various purposes:

Testing application performance subject to network effects such as error, delay, loss, etc.
Impact is immediately apparent with no need to interpret from simulation statistics
R & D in new protocol design. Test your protocol performance with real applications.
Design state testing before the real devices/software are ready
Integration into cyber test beds

NetSim Network Emulator is a cost-effective alternative to hardware emulators that have high costs, complicated configuration requirements and limited scale

Example use case for Military Radios

Scenario of soldiers communicating as a Mobile Ad-hoc Network (MANET) using UHF/VHF radios created in NetSim emulation server
Each soldier is emulated by a virtual machine created inside physical server The MANET scenario in NetSim covers parameters for mobility, RF propagation losses, L3 / MAC / PHY protocol attributes etc.
Real-time traffic such as data, voice or video can be sent between the VM's i.e. from one soldier to another
Output metrics such as loss, delay, error, throughput, quality of service etc. can be measured Different "What-if" scenarios can be played

Example use case for 5G Networks

A typical 5G network. Cameras uploading video and phones (UEs) uploading and downloading files.
Change network parameters such as bandwidth, pathloss, transmit power, antenna count, mobility etc.
Run various what-if scenarios by modifying the file transfer and video rates
Study application performance and analyze metrics such as loss, delay, error, throughput, quality of service etc.