How to Start TCP Protocols Projects Using NS3

To start TCP protocols projects using NS3 that offers massive support for TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) simulations, permitting to know the behaviour of different TCP variants and its performance in diverse network conditions. NS3 environment contains popular TCP executions such as TCP Tahoe, TCP Reno, TCP NewReno, TCP BBR, and TCP Cubic. This guide will instruct you through the step-by-step process to configuring a TCP protocol project in NS3.

Steps to Start TCP Protocols Projects in NS3

  1. Install NS3

We can follow below coding (assuming a Linux environment) to configure it, if NS3 doesn’t install on the system:

# Update system and install dependencies

sudo apt update

sudo apt install -y gcc g++ python3 python3-dev cmake libgsl-dev libsqlite3-dev

# Clone the NS-3 repository

git clone https://gitlab.com/nsnam/ns-3-dev.git ns-3

cd ns-3

# Configure and build NS-3

./ns3 configure –enable-examples –enable-tests

./ns3 build

  1. Create a New Script for TCP Protocol Simulation
  1. In the scratch directory of NS3, we make a new file like tcp_protocol_simulation.cc.
  2. We can utilize the following example code to configure a basic TCP simulation in which we can choose diverse TCP variants.

Basic Structure of tcp_protocol_simulation.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(“TcpProtocolSimulation”);

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

// Define TCP variant as a string (e.g., “TcpNewReno”, “TcpTahoe”, “TcpBbr”, etc.)

std::string tcpVariant = “TcpNewReno”;

CommandLine cmd;

cmd.AddValue(“tcpVariant”, “TCP variant to use: TcpNewReno, TcpTahoe, TcpBbr, TcpCubic”, tcpVariant);

cmd.Parse(argc, argv);

// Set TCP variant

if (tcpVariant == “TcpNewReno”) {

Config::SetDefault(“ns3::TcpL4Protocol::SocketType”, TypeIdValue(TcpNewReno::GetTypeId()));

} else if (tcpVariant == “TcpTahoe”) {

Config::SetDefault(“ns3::TcpL4Protocol::SocketType”, TypeIdValue(TcpTahoe::GetTypeId()));

} else if (tcpVariant == “TcpBbr”) {

Config::SetDefault(“ns3::TcpL4Protocol::SocketType”, TypeIdValue(TcpBbr::GetTypeId()));

} else if (tcpVariant == “TcpCubic”) {

Config::SetDefault(“ns3::TcpL4Protocol::SocketType”, TypeIdValue(TcpCubic::GetTypeId()));

} else {

NS_LOG_WARN(“Unknown TCP variant. Using default TcpNewReno.”);

Config::SetDefault(“ns3::TcpL4Protocol::SocketType”, TypeIdValue(TcpNewReno::GetTypeId()));

}

// Create nodes

NodeContainer nodes;

nodes.Create(2); // Simple two-node topology

// Set up a point-to-point link

PointToPointHelper pointToPoint;

pointToPoint.SetDeviceAttribute(“DataRate”, StringValue(“5Mbps”));

pointToPoint.SetChannelAttribute(“Delay”, StringValue(“2ms”));

NetDeviceContainer devices = pointToPoint.Install(nodes);

// Install the Internet stack

InternetStackHelper internet;

internet.Install(nodes);

// Assign IP addresses

Ipv4AddressHelper ipv4;

ipv4.SetBase(“10.1.1.0”, “255.255.255.0”);

Ipv4InterfaceContainer interfaces = ipv4.Assign(devices);

// Set up TCP server and client applications

uint16_t port = 8080;

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

// TCP Sink (Server) on node 1

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

ApplicationContainer serverApps = sinkHelper.Install(nodes.Get(1));

serverApps.Start(Seconds(1.0));

serverApps.Stop(Seconds(10.0));

// TCP Source (Client) on node 0

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

clientHelper.SetAttribute(“OnTime”, StringValue(“ns3::ConstantRandomVariable[Constant=1]”));

clientHelper.SetAttribute(“OffTime”, StringValue(“ns3::ConstantRandomVariable[Constant=0]”));

clientHelper.SetAttribute(“DataRate”, DataRateValue(DataRate(“2Mbps”)));

clientHelper.SetAttribute(“PacketSize”, UintegerValue(1024));

ApplicationContainer clientApps = clientHelper.Install(nodes.Get(0));

clientApps.Start(Seconds(2.0));

clientApps.Stop(Seconds(10.0));

// Flow Monitor for performance analysis

FlowMonitorHelper flowmonHelper;

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

// Run the simulation

Simulator::Stop(Seconds(10.0));

Simulator::Run();

// Output flow monitor results

monitor->CheckForLostPackets();

monitor->SerializeToXmlFile(“tcp_protocol_simulation_flowmon.xml”, true, true);

Simulator::Destroy();

return 0;

}

Explanation of the Code

  • TCP Variant Selection: The tcpVariant string permits to choose the version of TCP version we need to experiment by configuring the proper SocketType. General choices are “TcpNewReno”, “TcpTahoe”, “TcpBbr”, and “TcpCubic”.
  • Node Setup: We make two nodes are associated using a point-to-point link to replicate a basic TCP connection.
  • Point-to-Point Link: This link contains a 5Mbps bandwidth and a delay of 2ms.
  • Server and Client Applications:
    • A TCP Sink (Server) application attends on port 8080 at node 1.
    • A TCP Source (Client) application, from node 0 to the server at node 1 makes TCP traffic including a data rate of 2Mbps.
  • Flow Monitor: FlowMonitor is contained for monitoring the performance parameters TCP like throughput, delay, and packet loss.
  1. Build and Run the Simulation
  1. In the scratch directory, we can save tcp_protocol_simulation.cc.
  2. Go to a terminal, pass through to NS3 directory, and then make the script:

./ns3 build

  1. Run the simulation with a specific TCP variant:

./ns3 run “scratch/tcp_protocol_simulation –tcpVariant=TcpNewReno”

We can substitute TcpNewReno with other choices such as TcpTahoe, TcpBbr, or TcpCubic to replicate diverse TCP variants.

  1. Analyze the Results

The outcomes are stored to tcp_protocol_simulation_flowmon.xml that can examine to utilize FlowMonitor’s performance parameters. We can analyse this XML file, acquiring statistics on throughput, delay, and packet loss each TCP variant.

Further Experimentation Ideas

To more completely discover TCP protocols, we can:

  • Increase Network Size: We extend the simulation containing additional nodes and replicate the multi-hop TCP flows.
  • Experiment with Different Link Characteristics: Fine-tune link bandwidth and delay, monitoring the performance of TCP within diverse network conditions.
  • Vary Application Settings: Modify the data rate and packet size of client to focus on how diverse traffic loads impacts the performance of TCP.
  • Compare TCP Variants: We need to execute several simulations including various TCP variants and then examine how they reply to network congestion that particularly like throughput and packet loss.
  • Use Different Queue Models: Experiment various queue management methods such as RED (Random Early Detection) or CoDel (Controlled Delay), monitoring how they affect the performance of TCP.

From the demonstration we completely aggregate the information about the simulation procedure for TCP Protocols projects using NS3 environment that were simulated and executed. More insights will be added regarding this topic.

Check out phdprojects.org if you need more help with your projects,. We offer fresh ideas and topics for TCP Protocols Projects using NS3, along with high-quality simulations for researchers. We specialize in implementing TCP Tahoe, TCP Reno, TCP NewReno, TCP BBR, and TCP Cubic, so you’ll get detailed explanations from our developers. Let our team take care of your project needs for the best results.