[ns] ns-2 FAQ

[John Heidemann <johnh@ISI.EDU>]

            The Network Simulator ns-2: Frequently Asked Questions

   (This FAQ is also on the web at
   http://www.isi.edu/nsnam/ns/ns-faq.html.)
       
     * _Where do I get ns?_
       
       From the ns web site at http://www.isi.edu/nsnam/ns/ns.html and
       the download page http://www.isi.edu/nsnam/ns/ns-tests.html.
       
     * _What platforms does ns run on and what kind of hardware do I
       need?_
       
       Please see "where to start" on the building ns web page:
       http://www.isi.edu/nsnam/ns/ns-build.html#start.
       
     * _What should I do if I have trouble downloading/extracting ns?_
       
       This question is answered in detail at
       http://www.isi.edu/nsnam/ns/ns-problems.html#downloading.
       
     * _What should I do if I encounter problems building ns?_
       
       Check:
         1. the README that comes in the distribution (very brief),
         2. the "installation problems, bug fixes and help" web page
            http://www.isi.edu/nsnam/ns/ns-problems.html,
         3. the archives of the ns-users mailing list
            http://www.isi.edu/nsnam/ns/ns-lists.html,
         4. post a bug report (see below)
            http://www.isi.edu/cgi-bin/nsnam/reportbug.cgi.
       
     * _What do I do after I successfully build ns?_
       
          + Put the path to your ns executable into your PATH environment
          + Put the path to your otcl into your LD_LIBRARY_PATH
            environment
          + Put the path to your tcl library into your TCL_LIBRARY
            environment
       
     * _Where can I find documentation for ns?_
       
       All documentation is linked from the main ns web page
       http://www.isi.edu/nsnam/ns/. Documentation includes a tutorial
       (originally from Marc Greis) and a reference manual (ns notes and
       documentation).
       
     * _Words, words, words... that documentation is nice, but where are
       some sample scripts I can start from?_
       
       Many sample scripts can be found in the ns distribution in
       ~ns-2/tcl/ex and ~ns-2/tcl/test.
       
     * _What protocols does ns support?_
       
       A lot! Almost all variants of TCP, several forms of multicast,
       wired networking, several ad hoc routing protocols and propagation
       models (but not cellular phones), data diffusion, satellite, and
       other stuff. See the documentation (described above) for details,
       or download ns and look.
       
     * _How do I know that ns correctly implements these protocols?_
       
       Ns has validation tests that cover many protocols, see
       http://www.isi.edu/nsnam/ns/ns-tests.html. However, ultimately
       users are responsible for verifying that ns is accurate for their
       purposes---since we cannot foresee all the ways ns may be used, we
       cannot test all cases with all inputs.
       
     * _Are there any contributed/additional protocols not in the main
       distribution?_
       
       Yes, please see the contributed code web page
       http://www.isi.edu/nsnam/ns/ns-contributed.html. The mailing list
       archives can also be helpful (see below).
       
     * _How should I get started doing something (like implementing a new
       protocol or trying an experiment)?_
       
       We recommend that you look through the tutorial (see
       documentation, above), then start with an example program that is
       most similar to yours (in the tutorial, or in tcl/ex or tcl/test
       in the distribution), and then start changing things.
       
     * _What should I do to compile ns to reflect my changes if I've
       modified some .cc or .h files?_
       
       go to ns directory and run "make" or "make depend; make"
       
     * _How do I subscribe to the ns-users mailing list? How do I search
       old list archives? I can't take any more---how do I get off this
       list?_
       
       To subscribe or unsubscribe, see
       http://www.isi.edu/nsnam/ns/ns-lists.html. The list archive is at
       http://www.isi.edu/nsnam/ns/ns-lists.html.
       
     * _What if I have a question that's not answered here?_
       
       If you've checked the installation problems and bug fixes web page
       (http://www.isi.edu/nsnam/ns/ns-problems.html) and there's no
       answer to your question, you may want to file a bug report or post
       a question to the ns-user's mailing list.
       
       First, you should check the archive of the list at
       http://www.isi.edu/nsnam/ns/ns-lists.html. Your question may
       already be answered there.
       
       If not, you can post a bug report using the web form at
       http://www.isi.edu/cgi-bin/nsnam/reportbug.cgi.
       
       If your question is NOT about ns implementation bugs, you may wish
       to post to the list. First you should subscribe. Subscription
       instructions are at http://www.isi.edu/nsnam/ns/ns-lists.html.
       
       When posting bug reports, please _always_ include information
       including at least (the bug report form includes spaces for
       these):
          + what version of ns you're using,
          + what operating system you're running on (not just Linux or
            Solaris, but RedHat version 7.0 or Solaris 2.4---send us the
            output of "uname -a"),
          + what specific behavior you see (if ns doesn't compile, what's
            the specific error; if TCP does something strange, what
            exactly did it do [send a pointer to a packet trace]),
          + what behavior you expected to see (if ns doesn't compile this
            is obvious, but if TCP does something strange, why is it
            strange, where is the TCP spec violated?),
          + pointers to your script detailed output files,
          + a statement that "yes, I've read the FAQ, ns-problems page,
            and manual and I couldn't find the answer there" (or a
            statement about why you didn't do that yet :-)
       
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            rather than asking).
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