A Case Study of Networks Simulation Tools for Wireless Networks

Networking community is largely depend on simulation to evaluate the behavior and performance of protocols for wireless networks, simulations are a good compromise between cost and complexity, on the one hand, and accuracy of the results, on the other hand. Since there are many simulators for wireless networks, it is often difficult to decide which simulator to choose. To help shed light on this issue, we discuss six ldquowidely usedrdquo network simulation tools along with their associated strengths and weakness. To determine the state of wireless networks simulation studies, we surveyed the several primer conferences papers from years 2000-2008. From our survey, we found some important pitfalls and issues. We then summarize simulation study pitfalls found in our survey. Finally, we present our research results with the hope to aid developers in the selection of an appropriate simulation tool and to show them how to avoid common pitfalls to improve the reliability and repeatability of simulation based studies.