Automatic network modeling, simulation and performance evaluation

Simulation tools improves the designer's understanding of the system beyond what intuition or analytical models alone can provide. We present, NAMS an automated approach for communication networks modeling, simulation, and performance evaluation to provide an easy-to-use, flexible simulation tool for rapidly constructing a variety of "complete" network models. NAMS receives the configuration of the network to be modeled or simulated in a specific format, uses the built-in models for the key hardware devices and protocols in a network simulation tool, puts these models together using programming interfaces to form a high level network model representing the received network configuration compiles the network model into an executable simulation generates the simulation environment, generates an appropriate performance evaluation methodology, executes the simulation, and reports the performance indices back to the system operator. NAMS is intended to be open ended to the extent that new technology/protocol options can be introduced into the system without significant effort.