On Rate-based Simulation of Communication Networks

摘要

Packet-based simulations of large, high-speed communication networks take a long time due to the huge number of simulation events. With this paper, we want to introduce the reader to the rate-based simulation approach. This approach accelerates simulations by abstracting packet streams by their rate. They are modeled as bursts of constant rate and rate changes. We describe the rate-based simulation approach, which we developed for our rate-based simulator, as well as its implications for network simulations. In order to show the flexibility and the practical relevance of rate-based simulations, we give some examples of our work. These include rate-based simulations of traffic management in ATM network elements, load balancing using MPLS traffic engineering, and QoS routing mechanisms.