Parallel execution of a sequential network simulator

Parallel discrete event simulation (PDES) techniques have not yet made a substantial impact on the network simulation community because of the need to recast the simulation models using a new set of tools. To address this problem, we present a case study in transparently parallelizing a widely used network simulator, called ns. The use of this parallel ns does not require the modeler to learn any new tools or complex PDES techniques. The paper describes our approach and design choices to build the parallel ns and presents preliminary performance results, which are very encouraging.