Simulation-based 'STRESS' testing case study: a multicast routing protocol

We propose a method for using simulation to analyze the robustness of multiparty (multicast-based) protocols in a systematic fashion. We call our method Systematic Testing of Robustness by Examination of Selected Scenarios (STRESS). STRESS aims to cut the time and effort needed to explore pathological cases of a protocol during its design. This paper has two goals: (1) to describe the method, and (2) to serve as a case study of robustness analysis of multicast routing protocols. We aim to offer design tools similar to those used in CAD and VLSI design, and demonstrate how effective systematic simulation can be in studying protocol robustness.