A Visualization and Analysis Tool for Wireless Simulations: iNSpect∗

Simulation is the tool of choice for researchers in the wireless ad hoc network community. As these simulations become more complex, tools are needed to analyze the large volume of output. In this paper, we discuss a new visualization and analysis tool for use with wireless simulations. Visual analysis of a wireless environment is important for at least three areas of simulation research: (1) visualization improves confidence in the accuracy of a mobility model’s output and/or the node topology files used to drive the simulation; (2) visualization improves confidence in the correctness of new simulator versions themselves; and (3) visualization aids in analysis of simulation results. Our iNSpect program handles all three of these areas quickly and accurately. Our visualization tool, iNSpect, works directly with the NS-2 simulator; in addition, iNSpect can be used with any simulator or testbed output if the output is written in iNSpect’s expected format. We have made our iNSpect program available for other researchers in order to improve the accuracy of their simulations.