Simulation of Communication Protocols
Background:
When computers exchange dataover a network complex procedures are involved and a high degree of cooperation between the communicating computersis required. The logic behind this is implemented as subtasks or modules that are arranged in a vertical stack. In other words, the stack is composed of layers each of which performs specific set of functions. For two computers to communicate, the same set of layered functionsmust exist in both of them. The peer layers communicate bymeans of formatted blocks of data that obey a set of rules or conventions known asa protocol . The layered stack of protocols is referred to as the Protocol Architecture.
Thecnet network simulator enables development of and experimentation with a variety of data-link layer, network layer, and transport layer networking protocols in networks consisting of any combination of wide-area-networking (WAN), local-area-networking (LAN), or wireless-local-area-networking (WLAN) links.
While the Physical Layer and the Application Layer are already implemented for the users of the cnet simulator, the rest of the layers of the protocol architecture should be designed and implemented by the users.
Project Problem:
In this project you are required to implement the Sliding-Window Flow Control(SWFC) protocol (a Data Link Layer protocol) and study its performance. The following specifications should be taken into consideration:
1. Use a wired network with at least four machines.
2. Implement the SWFC protocol as explained in class (slides 21- 33 and 42 - 49).
3. Test the performance of the siding-window protocol with window sizes1, 7, and 15.
4. Collect the following statistics (The simulation should be run for a long time sufficient to collect meaningful statistics):
a. Number of frames generated.
b. Number of frames delivered.
c. Average delivery time.
d. Utilization (see number 5 below).
Plot the utilization as a function of a (where a=(Propagation Time)/(Transmission Time)) (refer to pages 550 -554 of our textbook for more information). (To plot the graph you can use any software like Excel, MATLAB ... etc).
Project General Rules:
Students should work in teams of four students (teams of three can be allowed under permission of the instructor).
Within each team, the work should be distributed evenly amongst the team members.
Feel free to make assumptions that can simplify your work.
Deliverables:
During the demo, students are assessed individually and receive marks based on their contribution and ability to answer the questions.
A project report should be submitted to capture all the details of your work. The format of the report is as follows:
Objectives.
Introduction: provide background about communication protocols, the data link layer, the sliding-window flow control, and the cnet network simulator.
System Model: describe your software implementation of the sliding-window control flow protocol. Provide full details of your implementation and avoid being concise.
Results and Discussions: describe the statistics you collected, provide any requested graphs, and comment on your findings.
Conclusion: conclude your work by listing the lessons learnt out of the project.
Team members receive the same mark for the project.
The reports should be submitted in PDF format (submitting in any other format will result inpenalties)