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Network Simulation
Chapter 2: OPNET
A Tool for Discrete Event Simulation (DES)

2: OPNET

Prof. Dr. Jrgen Jasperneite

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Lecture Objectives

Learn how OPNET can be used for

Application troubleshooting
Network planning and design
Operational validation
Understand and be able to explain the value of OPNET
Get a hands-on learning experience and learn various
OPNET features

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OPNET
OPtimised Network Engineering Tools
OPNET for short
http://www.opnet.com/

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General-purpose tool for discrete event simulations

Object-oriented design
The simulator can be used for:

traffic modeling of telecommunication networks

protocol modeling
modeling queueing networks
modeling multiprocessors and other distributed hardware systems
validating hardware architectures
evaluating performance aspects of complex software systems
. . . modeling any other system where the discrete event approach
is suitable.

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Where is OPNET
in the world of simulation tools?

There are a lot of network simulation tools available:

Non-commercial:
SMURPH www.cs.ualberta.ca/~pawel/SMURPH/smurph.html
NS www.isi.edu/nsnam/ns/
NetSim++
OMNET++ www.omnetpp.org
.....
Commercial:
COMNET III
OPNET www.opnet.com -> state of the art
...

Here we use the academic version IT Guru !

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The Virtual Network Environment (VNE)

Troubleshooting
Identify problems faster

Operational Validation
Reduce costly mistakes

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Traffic,
Topology, and
Configurations

Planning
Improve price /
performance

Virtual Network Environment

Replicates the behavior of your entire network,

including its routers, switches, servers, protocols,
and individual applications

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Examples of Problems Solved

IT Guru can be used to
Identify problems
Increasing traffic loads by 20% causes unacceptable FTP
response times
If the Chicago router fails, the Seattle router becomes
overloaded
The link between Seattle and Portland averages 10% utilization

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Pinpoint causes
The FTP server is not fast enough
More traffic than expected is being routed through Seattle

Test solutions
Where is the best location for a new server?
Which router configuration will give the best performance?

Create/import topology/configuration
Create traffic
Choose statistics
Run simulation
View results
Duplicate or create new scenario
Publish results

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Discrete Event Simulation Workflow

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DES Example: Technology Migration

Problem: Voiceover-IP applications
choppy

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Cause: Voice packet

delay variation

Potential solution:
Understand the
effect of adding IP
QoS

Iterate

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DES Example: Protocol Behavior

Problem: Large file transfers

too slow
Upgrading from T1 (1.544
Mbps) to T3 (44.7 Mbps) links
is costly, and more
importantly, does not help
Cause: TCP is throttling
throughput
Solution: Modify TCP window
size
Cost: $0

Capture traffic
Import packet trace file(s)
Visualize application behavior
Diagnose problems
Explore potential solutions
Document application analysis
Import into IT Guru for analysis

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ACE Workflow

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ACE: Application Characterization Environment

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Summary

IT Guru can predicts performance of infrastructure by

aiding in
Application analysis
Application deployments
Capacity planning
Technology migration
Understanding protocol behavior
Identifying network configuration errors
Failure analysis
Device change management

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Workflow (not limited to IT Guru)

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IT Guru Workflow
Projects and Scenarios

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Startup Wizard

Building Topologies

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Creating Topologies
Network Object
Model Libraries
LAN and Cloud Objects
Object Attributes
Model Architecture
Subnets

Creating Traffic
Choosing Statistics
Viewing Results

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Project Editor and Topologies

Project Editor
Networks are modeled and created in this editor
The first step is to specify project and scenario names and select
how to create the topology

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Topology can be created or imported from

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Empty Scenario - built manually

ACE traffic file
Device Configuration files
Circuit Switched Text files
ATM Text files
XML

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Projects and Scenarios

A scenario is a snapshot of the entire network
configuration, topology,
and traffic

Baseline Scenario

Baseline Scenario
With Doubled Traffic

Capacity Planning Project

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Scenario With
Upgraded Links

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IT Guru Workflow
Projects and Scenarios

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Startup Wizard

Building Topologies

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Creating Topologies
Network Object
Model Libraries
LAN and Cloud Objects
Object Attributes
Model Architecture
Subnets

Creating Traffic
Choosing Statistics
Viewing Results

 Organized set of network objects

Defines

Node location
Connectivity
Configuration

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What Is a Topology?

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Creating a Topology
Topologies can be built manually or imported
To build manually:
Choose appropriate node and link objects
Position nodes and links
Set node and link attributes

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To import:

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Use third-party software to gather topology information

Import into IT Guru
Fine-tune and verify the model
Create Model Assistant file to streamline future imports

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Subnets

Organizes network components

Represents actual network physical constructs
No behavioral aspects
Stationary, mobile or satellite

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3 Subnet Types

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Choosing Network Objects

Object Palettes

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A catalog of different network devices

Utility objects
Simplify the setup and configuration of network model

Standard models
Generic network devices

Vendor models
Vender specific network devices

LAN objects
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A network object that represents a LAN entity

Cloud objects
Represents a cluster of routers or ISP

Attributes
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Device inputs that control its behavior

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Network Domain: Network Objects

Network models consist of nodes, links and subnets
Nodes represent network devices and groups of devices

Servers, workstations, routers, etc.

LAN nodes, IP clouds, etc.

Links represent point-to-point and bus links

Icons assist the user in quickly locating the correct nodes and links
Vendor models are distinguished by a specific color and logo for each
company
Vendor Devices

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Generic Devices

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Subnets

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Contain segments of the network

Add hierarchy to model
Provide geographical and logical organization
Not related to IP subnets

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Device Models
The Standard Model Library comprises the majority of
objects

Routers
Switches
Hubs
Workstations
Servers
Firewalls
Load Balancers
Printers

Graphical conventions for network objects

Models represent both hardware and software full

protocol stacks are modeled

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Cloud Models

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Cloud models represent backbone networks

Helpful for modeling packet transmission through an external network
or ISP
Clouds have attributes such as Latency and Packet Loss Ratio
ATM and Frame Relay clouds support PVCs through the network

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Object Attributes
Object attributes control device behavior.
All objects have attributes.

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Right-click

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Model Architecture
Within each IT Guru model is a full
protocol stack
Each protocol is modeled individually
to simulate exactly the protocols
specified behavior
All models are thoroughly tested for
high fidelity
Demo:

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Explore Model Architecture with OPNET

Modeler

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Node Domain
Basic building blocks (modules) include processors,
queues, and transceivers
Processors are fully programmable via their process model
Queues also buffer and manage data packets
Transceivers are node interfaces

Interfaces between modules

Packet streams
Statistic wires

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Stat Wire

Receiver

Packet Stream

Queues

Transmitters

Processor

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Process Domain

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Process model components

State transition diagrams

Blocks of C code
OPNET Kernel Procedures (KPs)
State variables
Temporary variables

A process is an instance of a process model

Processes can dynamically create child processes
Processes can respond to interrupts

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Background Maps

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TIFF, MIFF (MapInfo), and

GEOTIFF image maps can
be imported, as shown
below

Map backgrounds add

geographical context and make
models easy to interpret

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IT Guru Workflow
Projects and Scenarios

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Startup Wizard

Building Topologies

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Creating Topologies
Network Object
Model Libraries
LAN and Cloud Objects
Object Attributes
Model Architecture
Subnets

Creating Traffic
Choosing Statistics
Viewing Results

 To represent a person using e-mail and downloading files:

Edit Application Config node to support email and FTP
Define the level of use or use a predefined level
Define a user in the Profile Config node that uses the email and FTP
applications you just configured
Set the client to support the user profile you just created
Set the server to support the email and FTP applications

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Common Networked Applications

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Common Networked Applications

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Includes various network

applications with predefined load levels
View and edit these settings
by selecting a predefined
load and then selecting
Edit

Custom

Off, Edit

Database

Off, Low Load, Medium Load, High Load, Edit

Email

Off, Low Load, Medium Load, High Load, Edit

FTP

Off, Low Load, Medium Load, High Load, Edit

HTTP

Off, Light Browsing, Heavy Browsing, Searching,

Image Browsing, Edit

Print

Off, Text File, B/W Images, Color Prints, Edit

Remote Login

Off, Low Load, Medium Load, High Load, Edit

Video Conferencing

Off, Low Resolution Video, High Resolution Video,

VCR Quality Video, Edit

Voice

Off, PCM Quality Speech, PCM Quality and Silence

Suppressed, Low Quality Speech, Low Quality and
Silence Suppressed, IP Telephony, IP Telephony and
Silence Suppressed, GSM Quality Speech, GSM
Quality and Silence Suppressed, Edit

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IT Guru Workflow
Projects and Scenarios

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Startup Wizard

Building Topologies

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Creating Topologies
Network Object
Model Libraries
LAN and Cloud Objects
Object Attributes
Model Architecture
Subnets

Creating Traffic
Choosing Statistics
Viewing Results

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Choosing Statistics
Before running a simulation, choose statistics that will help
answer your questions about the network
Also choose statistics that will validate your network model
and ensure its accuracy
After running the simulation, view graphs for those
statistics you chose
Four types of statistics are available

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- Global Statistics
- Node Statistics
- Link Statistics

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Choosing Statistics Global Statistics

Represents values for all nodes in the network
Use global statistics to look at overall performance of
applications or protocols
Example: End-to-End Delay for all HTTP web page
downloads
To collect global statistics

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DES / Choose Individual Statistics /

Global Statistics

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Choosing Statistics Node Statistics

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Information specific to each individual node

Examples: End-to-End Delay for all HTTP web page
downloads from a particular workstation or server CPU
utilization for each server
Collect node statistics on all
relevant nodes at once or
on individual nodes
To collect a statistic on all nodes,
use:
DES / Choose Individual Statistics /
Node Statistics

For a specific node: Right-click

on the node, Choose
Individual Statistics

 Similar to Node Statistics

Statistics of point-to-point or
bus links such as throughput,
utilization, packet loss ratio,
and queuing delay
To collect a statistic on all links:
DES / Choose Individual
Statistics / Link Statistics
To collect a statistic on a
specific link: Right-click the link,
Choose Individual Statistics

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Choosing Statistics Link Statistics

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Configuring and Running Simulations

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Name

Description

Duration

Duration of simulation, in
simulated time

Seed

Random number
generation seed

Values Per
Statistic

Number of values to be
collected for each statistic

Run

Execute the simulation for

this scenario

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IT Guru Workflow
Projects and Scenarios

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Startup Wizard

Building Topologies

2: OPNET

Creating Topologies
Network Object
Model Libraries
LAN and Cloud Objects
Object Attributes
Model Architecture
Subnets

Creating Traffic
Choosing Statistics
Viewing Results

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Plotting Results

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Sometimes it might be useful to view multiple results at once

Multiple graphs can be displayed within the same graph panel in a
stacked or overlaid format

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Applying Filters to Results

Variety of mathematical filters can be applied to results data
As Is filter is the default and represents the raw data (as if there is
no filter)
Average filter is
commonly used to plot the
running sample mean of the
raw results data
You can view filtered traces
in a new graph panel, or add
traces to existing graph
panels

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Comparing Results Between Scenarios

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Comparing Results automatically selects and presents the

corresponding results from all other scenarios

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Summary IT Guru
DES:

Simulates precise protocol effects for capacity planning, tuning protocol

behavior, response time engineering, technology migration, QoS, etc.

ACE:

Application performance troubleshooting: visualize performance,

diagnose problems, explore solutions

Traffic,
Topology, and
Configuration

DES

MVI, VNES, GUI

Virtual Network
Environment
Application Trace
Sniffer, OPNET Application Capture Agent, etc.

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ACE

Graphs, web reports,

charts, for all timevarying network
performance metrics
(e.g., app response time,
queue depths,
convergence time,
protocol behavior, etc.)
Application Visualization,
Diagnosis, Analysis,
Protocol Decodes