How to Start RIP Protocol Projects Using NS2

To start a Routing Information Protocol (RIP) project in NS2 (Network Simulator 2) that encompasses to create a network topology, set up RIP behavior, and replicate the routing dynamics, we can follow these structured steps.

Steps to Start RIP Protocol Projects in NS2

  1. Understand RIP and NS2 Capabilities
  • RIP Protocol: RIP protocol is a distance-vector routing protocol, which utilises the hop count like a metric for finding the optimal path. RIP periodically modernizes their routing table and it contains a maximum hop count of 15.
  • NS2 Support: NS2 environment supports extensibility to execute and replicate the routing protocols such as RIP. We will need to make and measure the performance of RIP under diverse network scenarios.
  1. Set Up Your Environment
  • Install NS2:

sudo apt-get install ns2

  • Make sure that NAM (Network Animator) and XGraph are installed for analysis and visualization.
  1. Define the Scope of the Project
  • Project Goals:
    • Replicate and monitor the convergence behavior of RIP.
    • Measure the performance indicators such as latency, packet delivery ratio, and routing overhead.
    • Prolong or change the RIP for instance, launch the enhancements such as security or energy efficiency.
  • Example Scenarios:
    • Mimic RIP within dynamic networks scenarios such as nodes moving offline/online.
    • We need to equate the performance of RIP including other routing protocols like OSPF or AODV.
  1. Design the Network Topology
  • Plan Topology:
    • Define the network topology that has several nodes which specifying routers.
    • Set RIP for broadcasting routing tables among the nodes.
    • Replicate the link failures or dynamic changes for analysing flexibility of RIP.
  • Example Topology:
    • We can consider a small network that contains five nodes which are linked in a mesh or tree-like structure.
  1. Implement RIP in NS2
  • NS2 environment doesn’t directly have support for RIP however it offers routing logic extensibility.
  • Steps to Implement RIP:
    • TCL Script: Describe the network topology, traffic, and routing behavior in tcl script.
    • C++ Extension: Inscribe or fine-tune the routing agents for replicating the RIP’s logic using C++.

Example TCL Script for Basic RIP Simulation:

# Initialize the simulator

set ns [new Simulator]

# Open trace and NAM files

set tracefile [open rip_trace.tr w]

$ns trace-all $tracefile

set namfile [open rip_simulation.nam w]

$ns namtrace-all $namfile

# Create nodes

set n0 [$ns node]

set n1 [$ns node]

set n2 [$ns node]

set n3 [$ns node]

set n4 [$ns node]

# Connect nodes

$ns duplex-link $n0 $n1 1Mb 10ms DropTail

$ns duplex-link $n1 $n2 1Mb 10ms DropTail

$ns duplex-link $n2 $n3 1Mb 10ms DropTail

$ns duplex-link $n3 $n4 1Mb 10ms DropTail

$ns duplex-link $n0 $n4 1Mb 10ms DropTail

# Configure RIP routing

$n0 set-routing-protocol “RIP”

$n1 set-routing-protocol “RIP”

$n2 set-routing-protocol “RIP”

$n3 set-routing-protocol “RIP”

$n4 set-routing-protocol “RIP”

# Simulate traffic between nodes

set udp [new Agent/UDP]

$ns attach-agent $n0 $udp

set null [new Agent/Null]

$ns attach-agent $n4 $null

$ns connect $udp $null

# Generate traffic

set cbr [new Application/Traffic/CBR]

$cbr set packetSize_ 512

$cbr set interval_ 0.1

$cbr attach-agent $udp

$ns at 1.0 “$cbr start”

$ns at 5.0 “$cbr stop”

# Run the simulation

$ns at 10.0 “finish”

proc finish {} {

global ns tracefile namfile

$ns flush-trace

close $tracefile

close $namfile

exec nam rip_simulation.nam &

exit 0

}

$ns run

  1. Simulate Network Changes
  • Dynamically launch link failures or new nodes in the course of the simulation for monitoring the response and convergence time of RIP.
  • Instance of TCL Command for Connection Failure:

$ns rtmodel-at 3.0 down $n1 $n2

$ns rtmodel-at 5.0 up $n1 $n2

  1. Run the Simulation
  • We can run the TCL simulation script in NS2:

ns rip_simulation.tcl

  • Envision the simulation using NAM:

nam rip_simulation.nam

  1. Analyze Performance
  • Obtain  simulation performance metrics from the trace file (rip_trace.tr):
    • Convergence Time: Estimate the duration to become stable after modifications for the routing table.
    • Packet Delivery Ratio (PDR): Compute the rate of packets that are effective distributed to total transmitted packets.
    • Routing Overhead: Count the volume of routing control messages which are swapped for routing overhead.
  • Make use of AWK or Python scripts for automated analysis.

Example AWK Script for Packet Delivery Ratio:

BEGIN {sent=0; received=0;}

{

if ($1 == “s” && $4 == “UDP”) {

sent++;

} else if ($1 == “r” && $4 == “UDP”) {

received++;

}

}

END {

print “Packet Delivery Ratio:”, received/sent;

}

  1. Extend RIP Functionality
  • Add Security: Execute the encryption to avoid spoofing for routing table updates.
  • Optimize Routing: Fine-tune the RIP logic that has more performance parameters such as link quality or power utilization.
  • Simulate Attacks: Experiment the behaviour of RIP in routing attacks such as blackhole or wormhole.
  1. Document the Project
  • This project contains essential insights like:
    • Problem statement and projects goals.
    • Network topology and sets up.
    • Simulation outcomes using graphs and tables.
    • Explanations, tasks, and upcoming work.

Suggested Enhancements

  • We will equate the performance of RIP with other routing protocols such as OSPF, AODV, or DSR.
  • Replicate the RIP within wireless or mobile ad-hoc networks.
  • Prolong the project for measuring scalability of RIP within larger networks.

Tools for Advanced Analysis

  • Wireshark: Examine the packet-level insights for RIP behavior using the tool wireshark.
  • MATLAB or Python: Make visualizations to leverage python or Matlab tool for analysing the performance parameters.

We have delivered an outlined structure, featuring NS2-specific content for replicating and examining the RIP Protocol Projects using NS2 simulation environment. Feel free to ask for more insights regarding this topic.