How to model a TCP/IP network using only 20 parameters

Most simulation models for data communication networks encompass hundreds of parameters that can each take on millions of values. Such models are difficult to understand, parameterize and investigate. This paper explains how to model a modern data communication network concisely, using only 20 parameters. Further, the paper demonstrates how this concise model supports efficient design of simulation experiments. The model has been implemented as a sequential simulation called MesoNet, which uses Simulation Language with Extensibility (SLX). The paper discusses model resource requirements and the performance of SLX. The model and principles delineated in this paper have been used to investigate parameter spaces for large (hundreds of thousands of simultaneously active flows), fast (hundreds of Gigabits/ second) simulated networks under a variety of congestion control algorithms.