Influence of Network Topology on Protocol Simulation

Simulation is one of the most widely used techniques for designing network protocols. A simulation framework provides a sandbox where a harmful design flaw can easily be detected and removed. This is done prior to implementation and experimentation in an operational environment as it is easier and cheaper to carry out. However, simulation results can be distorted if the simulation model is unrealistic. In particular the topology model used by a protocol simulation can have a great impact on the results. In this paper we present a comparison of the results of a oriented multicast protocol simulation performed on some of the major topology models currently in use in the network research community.