Analyzing and Evaluating Current Computer Networks Simulation Models

Abstract

Computer simulation is widely-used in investigating the performance of existing and proposed systems in many areas of science, engineering, operations research, and management science, especially in applications characterized by complicated geometries and interaction probabilities, and for dealing with system design in the presence of uncertainty. This is particularly true in the case of computer systems and computer networks. Therefore, it is very important to have efficient, reliable, and accurate methodologies for simulating these systems to ensure effective, reliable, and accurate evaluation and analysis of performance and to create the optimum design parameters for communication and computer networks. Although practical experiments and simulations are the most widely used, several efforts have also been directed towards mathematical models. The main objectives of this chapter are to: present the methodologies and techniques used to evaluate and analyze the performance of communication and computer networks routers, such as mathematical analysis, computer simulations techniques, and empirical measurements; identify the workload required for accomplishing a simulation model or mathematical analysis; identify the main metrics used to evaluate, manage, and control the performance of the computer networks; present the advantage and disadvantage of these techniques; and identify the challenges facing these different methodologies.