Steps to Develop Network Protocol Testing Projects Using NS3

To develop the Network Protocol Testing for projects utilize the tool is NS3. The Network protocol testing using NS3 has includes the estimation of performance, reliability, and security of networking protocols is replicated environment. This guide will help you create an NS3 project for testing network protocols.

Steps to Develop Network Protocol Testing Projects Using NS3

Goals of Network Protocol Testing in NS3

Network protocols testing generally concentrate on:

Functionality Testing: We enable the protocols work as expected.
Performance Testing: we investigate the performance of parameter metrices such as throughput, delay, jitter, and packet loss.
Scalability Testing: Calculate on how well the protocols manage the additional congestion.
Security Testing: We classify for vulnerabilities in protocols.
Interoperability Testing: Check and test the compatibility by other protocols.

Setting Up NS3

Make sure NS3 is installed. If not, install it:

git clone

cd ns-3-dev

./build.py –enable-examples

Implementing a Protocol Testing Simulation in NS3

For this tutorial, we will validate the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and User Datagram Protocol (UDP) in NS3.

Network Setup for Testing

Sender Node → Forward the packets using TCP/UDP.
Receiver Node → Obtain the packets and calculate the performance.
Point-to-Point Link → We replicate a network path.

3.1 C++ Code for Testing TCP and UDP in NS3

protocol-testing.cc

#include “ns3/core-module.h”

#include “ns3/network-module.h”

#include “ns3/internet-module.h”

#include “ns3/point-to-point-module.h”

#include “ns3/applications-module.h”

#include “ns3/flow-monitor-module.h”

using namespace ns3;

NS_LOG_COMPONENT_DEFINE (“ProtocolTesting”);

int main(int argc, char *argv[]) {

bool enableFlowMonitor = true;

std::string transportProtocol = “TCP”;

CommandLine cmd;

cmd.AddValue(“protocol”, “Transport protocol to test (TCP/UDP)”, transportProtocol);

cmd.Parse(argc, argv);

NodeContainer nodes;

nodes.Create(2);

PointToPointHelper p2p;

p2p.SetDeviceAttribute(“DataRate”, StringValue(“10Mbps”));

p2p.SetChannelAttribute(“Delay”, StringValue(“5ms”));

NetDeviceContainer devices = p2p.Install(nodes);

InternetStackHelper stack;

stack.Install(nodes);

Ipv4AddressHelper address;

address.SetBase(“10.1.1.0”, “255.255.255.0”);

Ipv4InterfaceContainer interfaces = address.Assign(devices);

uint16_t port = 8080;

Address serverAddress(InetSocketAddress(interfaces.GetAddress(1), port));

// Configure UDP or TCP server

ApplicationContainer serverApp;

if (transportProtocol == “TCP”) {

PacketSinkHelper packetSinkHelper(“ns3::TcpSocketFactory”, serverAddress);

serverApp = packetSinkHelper.Install(nodes.Get(1));

} else {

PacketSinkHelper packetSinkHelper(“ns3::UdpSocketFactory”, serverAddress);

serverApp = packetSinkHelper.Install(nodes.Get(1));

}

serverApp.Start(Seconds(1.0));

serverApp.Stop(Seconds(10.0));

// Configure UDP or TCP client

ApplicationContainer clientApp;

if (transportProtocol == “TCP”) {

OnOffHelper clientHelper(“ns3::TcpSocketFactory”, serverAddress);

clientHelper.SetConstantRate(DataRate(“1Mbps”));

clientApp = clientHelper.Install(nodes.Get(0));

} else {

OnOffHelper clientHelper(“ns3::UdpSocketFactory”, serverAddress);

clientHelper.SetConstantRate(DataRate(“1Mbps”));

clientApp = clientHelper.Install(nodes.Get(0));

}

clientApp.Start(Seconds(2.0));

clientApp.Stop(Seconds(9.0));

// Flow monitor for performance analysis

FlowMonitorHelper flowHelper;

Ptr<FlowMonitor> monitor = flowHelper.InstallAll();

Simulator::Stop(Seconds(10.0));

Simulator::Run();

if (enableFlowMonitor) {

monitor->SerializeToXmlFile(“protocol-test-results.xml”, true, true);

}

Simulator::Destroy();

return 0;

}

Running the Simulation

Transfer the file in NS3 scratch directory:

mv protocol-testing.cc ns-3-dev/scratch/

Compile the project replication:

./waf –run “scratch/protocol-testing –protocol=TCP”

Execute the UDP test:

./waf –run “scratch/protocol-testing –protocol=UDP”

Examine the outcomes:
- Output statistics are safe and secure the protocol-test-results.xml.

Performance Metrics for Testing

5.1 Throughput Measurement

Excerpt the throughput using FlowMonitor:

Ptr<Ipv4FlowClassifier> classifier = DynamicCast<Ipv4FlowClassifier>(flowHelper.GetClassifier());

std::map<FlowId, FlowMonitor::FlowStats> stats = monitor->GetFlowStats();

for (auto &flow : stats) {

std::cout << “Flow ID: ” << flow.first << ” Throughput: ”

<< (flow.second.rxBytes * 8.0 / 8.0 / 1024 / 1024) << ” Mbps” << std::endl;

}

5.2 Jitter Measurement

Compute the jitter using NS3 statistics:

double jitterSum = 0.0;

uint32_t count = 0;

for (auto &flow : stats) {

jitterSum += flow.second.jitterSum.GetSeconds();

count++;

}

double avgJitter = jitterSum / count;

std::cout << “Average Jitter: ” << avgJitter * 1000 << ” ms” << std::endl;

5.3 Packet Loss Measurement

Measure the packet loss percentage:

for (auto &flow : stats) {

double loss = ((flow.second.txPackets – flow.second.rxPackets) * 100.0) / flow.second.txPackets;

std::cout << “Packet Loss: ” << loss << “%” << std::endl;

}

Advanced Testing Scenarios

Test Scenario	Implementation in NS3
Congestion Testing	Improve the background traffic using several applications in OnOff.
Network Failure Testing	Launch for packet drops using an ErrorModel.
Latency Analysis	We estimate the packets for end-to-end delay.
Security Testing	For replicate the attacks such as DDoS using several UDP clients.
Scalability Testing	Improve the number of nodes and connections to amount of protocol performance.

Conclusion

Feature	Implemented?
TCP vs UDP Performance	✅
Throughput Measurement	✅
Packet Loss Analysis	✅
Jitter Calculation	✅
Protocol Testing Automation	✅

This NS3 project delivers the network protocol testing by throughput, delay, jitter, and loss analysis.

Future Enhancements

✅ Test Custom Protocols for instance RTP, MPLS, SD-WAN
✅ Replicate the Wireless Networks
✅ Establish for Security Testing
✅ Perform Interoperability Tests

General, we can describe the network protocol that had implemented in ns3 environment and also tested the network protocol. We provide further information related to network protocol how it adjusts with diverse environments.