High-fidelity distributed simulation of local area networks

The Adaptable Network COntrol and Reporting System (ANCORS) project merges technology from network management, active networking, and distributed simulation in a unified paradigm to assist in the assessment, control, and design of computer networks. After motivating their approach to network engineering, the author describes an initial ANCORS prototype system. In particular, the author describes a high-fidelity model of a Unix-based networking protocol stack, and characterize and compare two different distributed simulation synchronization mechanisms that were used to simulate an Ethernet-based local area network.