ViSim Simulation Demonstration Tool
Visual Simulator Tool - ViSim 1.0
ViSim is a visual simulator tool built to make comparisons among various Mobile Ad-hoc Network (MANET) routing protocols since there are very few prototypes available today for performing such type of task. Most of the available tools are somewhat not user-friendly. Hence, ViSim is built in such a way that even a naive user can be able to use this tool to visualize the background simulations done in ns-2 (that is run with the help of ActiveTcl in Windows operating system). ViSim runs .tcl files for three well-known MANET protocols; DSDV, DSR, AODV and extracts the required information from the trace files that are generated. Eventually the graphs are plotted for different performance indicators such as Throughput, Goodput, and Routing Loads. ViSim can make the task of a network administrator easy to decide which routing protocol would be better for the particular MANET scenario.
ViSim News
** ViSim Demo Paper has been accepted at the IEEE INFOCOM 2010 Demo Session to be held in San Diego, USA **
System Requirements
ViSim is written in Visual Basic 6.0. Current beta release has been certified for the following configuration:
- Operating System: Windows XP (SP2) Recommended / Windows Vista
- System Memory: At least 512 MB (1 GB preferred)
- Others: Microsoft .NET FrameWork 2.0 (optional , needed when dependency arises)
Download and Installation
Version 1.0
ViSim version 1.0 can be downloaded from here: ViSim 1.0 (beta release)
After downloading, please follow the instructions below:
Important Note: You need to have a D drive in your PC. Operating System must be installed in C drive.
1. Once download is completed, copy the ViSim1.0.exe file to your Desktop. Double click ViSim1.0.exe.
Then following display will appear :
2. Click Install. After that ActiveTcl installation window will appear:
3. Click Setup. The display will be:
4. Repeatedly click Next button with your choice of installation method and you will eventually reach this window:
5. Click Next. Installation process will start and following display will appear:
Now keep patience for a few seconds and finally installation process will be successful .
6. Click Finish to complete the installation.
8. ViSim will use the installed ActiveTcl for running simulations in the background!
Running ActiveTcl
The simulations of different scenarios for AODV, DSDV, and DSR were initially performed with Active Tcl 8.3.5.0 (an ns-2 simulator for windows version) that runs the .tcl scripts in windows environment and capable of executing the simulation faster than cygwin. This Active Tcl 8.3.5.0 package contains ns.exe and nam.exe, 2 executable files. Once a .tcl script is written referring to a particular scenario with specifications of different simulation parameters such as ad hoc routing protocol name, number of nodes, nodal positions, MAC layer type, simulation area, time, etc; to run it one has to follow the specific steps:
1. Write ns and then the name of the .tcl file specifying the scenario in DOS mode.
- This will run the simulation and will generate:
1. .tr file (trace file that contains all the raw data which provides all the information regarding the simulation such as which node has sent the packet, at what time the packet has been sent, the destination node, etc.)
2. .nam file (Network Animator file that provides visual specification of the simulated scenario)
2. Then write nam and the name of the .nam file that has been created after the simulation which would provide visual specifications of the simulated scenario.
Figure. Simulating .tcl script
Figure. Executing the .nam file
Immediately, the Network Animator file pops-up and if the play button is clicked, the simulation will progress:
Figure. The .nam outputs (pop-ups)
We have included ActiveTcl within ViSim installation file. Hence, the extra tasks are not necessary.
*** After doing the above steps successfully, a folder named ‘ViSim’ will be created in the D drive (the executable file will appear inside the folder and also there will be a shortcut of the .exe file on the Desktop).
VISIM IS NOW READY TO RUN IF THERE IS NO OTHER DEPENDENCY!!!
Running ViSim for the First Time ...
Figure 1. Visual Simulation Tool Interface, ViSim 1.0 (in Windows XP).
Different Working Areas
Figure 1 shows the ViSim prototype/tool when it is run in Windows environment for the first time. The graphical interface has some working areas and functionalities that should be known before using it for analysis of various parameters. There are mainly three portions/areas on the ViSim interface:
(a) Simulation: In this area, three routing protocols are mentioned. Clicking on the names of each protocol gives the options of simulating three network scenarios using that particular protocol. The network scenarios could be modified as required in the .tcl scripts that run in the background.
(b) Comparison: This area has the options; Throughput vs Time, Goodput (Packets), Routing Load (Packets), Goodput (Bytes), and Routing Load (Bytes). All these buttons are used to select the parameters that the user needs for the performance analysis and comparison among the routing protocols.
(c) Scenarios and Protocols: This area specifies the options of three network scenarios (radio buttons) and three routing protocols (tick boxes). Also it has two buttons namely; Simulate and Create Graph. Simulate button is used for playing the simulations and Create Graph is used to plot the comparison graphs.
(d) Output: Output area is the right-bottom area which is shown as a blank window area when ViSim is run for the first time. Based on the choice of various options, the outputs or further options are shown in this area. The graphs are also plotted on this area when the user chooses the option of creating graphs after performing various simulations and comparisons.
Figure 2. DSR simulation options.
Functionalities of ViSim with Examples
Now, let us see the functionalities of ViSim with some practical examples. Let us suppose that we want to visualize the simulation for DSR for a particular network scenario. For this task, first we have to click DSR button under simulation area. After clicking DSR button, ViSim shows three more options (DSR Simulation 1, DSR Simulation 2, and DSR Simulation 3) on the output area as shown in Figure 2.
From these three options, any one could be chosen. For our task, let us choose DSR Simulation 3. After clicking this button, ViSim calls ns-2 in its background, then reads .tcl file that specifies the simulation scenario 3, generates .nam and .tr files. Once the .nam and .tr files are generated, ViSim calls the NAM (Network Animator tool) in its background and reads the generated .nam files. Consequently, it shows a screen for simulation [see Figure 3].
On the NAM screen, there are few buttons such as play, forward, backward, stop; available to control the simulation as these are done usually in Linux based environment with ns-2 and NAM. To see the visual simulation on the screen, the play button should be clicked. Like any other simulation using NAM, we can also change the step size of the simulation.
Figure 3. The output after choosing DSR Simulation 3.
Now, if we want to make comparisons among three different protocols for performance analysis, we have to choose a specific network scenario. Let us select Scenario 1. Then we have to select three mentioned protocols (or, any two or one) and side by side the performance indicators should be clicked from the five options in the comparison area. Figure 4 shows the output where we selected ‘Throughput Vs Time’.
Figure 4. An example where ‘Throughput Vs Time’, Scenario 1, and three protocols are selected for running the simulations.
Once the simulations are performed by clicking the Simulate button, we can use the generated results in the background for plotting comparison graphs. Basically, this Simulate button facilitates performing various simulations with three protocols for a particular network scenario at the same time. This reduces the burden of doing the tasks repeatedly or selecting one protocol at a time under Simulation area. Once all the simulations are completed, the graph can be generated by clicking the Create Graph button. By clicking Create Graph button, we send the command to read the generated .tr files (trace files) and extract the required information/values from those. These values are used to plot the graphs for different protocols for a specific scenario and for different performance indicators. Figure 5 shows a sample output of what we have done so far (as an important note, it should be mentioned that each simulation and plotting of graph takes a bit time as required by ns-2; for example in our case, it took about 25 seconds to plot the graph on the ViSim output area).
Figure 5. A sample output graph (Throughput vs Time) using network scenario 1, all three protocols; DSDV, DSR, and AODV are compared.
User's Manual
The User's Manual provides information about how to use ViSim. ViSim could be used both by the naive and expert users. The User's Manual gives step by step information of using various features and functionalities of ViSim.
Download User's Manual here
Refereed Publications
[1] Nazmus Saquib, Md. Sabbir Rahman Sakib, and Al-Sakib Khan Pathan, "ViSiM: A MANET Routing Simulation Demonstration Tool for Naive Users", The 29th IEEE Conference on Computer Communications (IEEE INFOCOM 2010), San Diego, USA. [Demo Paper]
Technical Report
[1] Nazmus Saquib, Md. Sabbir Rahman Sakib, and Al-Sakib Khan Pathan. ViSim: A User-Friendly Simulation Tool for MANET Routing Protocols. Technical Report, TR-BU-CSE001-Oct09, BRAC University, 2009.
Contacts
We would welcome Comments and Suggestions from you. Please send your queries/comments/suggestions to:
Nazmus Saquib (nazmus.saquib@gmail.com)
Md. Sabbir Rahman Sakib (sakib3@gmail.com)
Al-Sakib Khan Pathan (spathan@ieee.org)
List of Countries where ViSim use has been reported ...
Australia
Bangladesh
Canada
France
India
South Korea
USA