Feasibility of Fluid Event-Driven Simulation for ATM Networks

Simulation for ATM Networks G. Kesidis, A. Singh, D. Cheung and W.W. Kwok E.& C.E. Dept, University of Waterloo Waterloo, ON, Canada, N2L 3G1 email: fg.kesidis,[email protected] Abstract| We describe an ATM network simulator that uses Markov-modulated uid models for the sources as well as uid leaky buckets and uid bandwidth schedulers. The generalized processor sharing (GPS) and \idling" bandwidth schedulers are described. We argue for the use of the idling scheduler over GPS. Based on this uid model, a simulator for ATM networks has been developed. The simulator employs the well-known discrete event-driven approach. Finally, simulation results are given that, in particular, compare the performance of uid and \cell-level" simulators. The experimental results indicate that while the uid simulator is much faster for ATM networks with certain characteristics, some key issues still need to be addressed to widen the applicability of this approach. Subject Areas: Modelling and Simulation Techniques, ATM Systems and Networks