VMSimInt: A Network Simulation Tool Supporting Integration of Arbitrary Kernels and Applications

Abstract

Integrating realistic behavior of end systems into simulations is challenging since the mechanisms used in protocols and applications such as Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) are complex and continuously evolving. In this paper, we present VMSimInt, a new approach which allows the INTegration of arbitrary Operating Systems (OSs) and application code into an event-driven network SIMulator by using Virtual Machines (VMs). In contrast to existing approaches which integrate parts of OS kernels, our approach uses unmodified OS kernels, which eases maintenance and provides additional flexibility. By controlling the time and all I/O of the VMs, our approach guarantees that external factors such as the performance of the host do not influence the simulation outcome, so that simulations are exactly reproducible. We validated our system against the Network Simulation Cradle (NSC) by simulating the same models and comparing the system behavior. In addition, we show that our approach provides sufficient performance for usage in day-today research.

A simulation model for analysis of attacks on the Bitcoin peer-to-peer network

“…Transformation of native network application's code into simulation models has previously been achieved by providing a virtual operating system interface [12] or full hardware virtualization [13]. Shadow [6] executes the Tor application in a simulation environment and supports Bitcoin using a plugin 1 .…”

Simonstrator: Simulation and Prototyping Platform for Distributed Mobile Applications

“…Werthmann et al [19] propose VMSimInt, utilizing virtual machines (VMs) integrated into a simulation framework. By controlling the VM's time and clock speed, as well as access to network socket operations, they enable time-scaled experiments while providing full access to the operating system's features.…”