How to Begin Implement Content Centric Network projects in NS3

To begin implementing a Content-Centric Networking (CCN) using NS3, it is designated as Named Data Networking (NDN) which addresses to recover data by content name instead of host address. Executing a CCN project in NS3, we can adhere to these steps:

Steps to Begin Implementing CCN Projects in NS3

1. Understand the Basics of CCN/NDN

• Learn the CCN/NDN’s architecture and principles.
• We must know about following fundamental concepts:
  • Named-based routing.
  • Interest and Data packets.
  • Content Store (CS), Pending Interest Table (PIT), and Forwarding Information Base (FIB).
  • Caching and in-network storage.

2. Set Up NS3

• We can download and install the new version of NS3 on the machine.
• Make sure that system includes all necessary dependencies such as Python, C++, and development tools for NS3.

3. Install NDN/CCN Support in NS3

• The extension of NS3 is ndnSIM module which is used for NDN/CCN simulation.
  • Clone the ndnSIM repository:

git clone https://github.com/named-data-ndnSIM/ndnSIM.git

cd ndnSIM

./waf configure

./waf

• This component incorporates the NDN-specific functionalities to NS3 like Interest/Data packet handling and name-based forwarding.

4. Learn ndnSIM Basics

• Focus on the API and examples that are offered within the ndnSIM documentation:
  • Make nodes including NDN capabilities.
  • Manage Interest and Data packets.
  • To set up caches, routing, and forwarding mechanisms.

5. Set Up a Basic NDN Simulation

• Design a simple topology with NS3.
• Integrate the NDN functionality to nodes.
• We can leverage the following structure:
  • Make Interest packets from consumer nodes.
  • Save content within producer nodes.
  • Allow caching on intermediate nodes.
• Example (basic configuration):

#include “ns3/core-module.h”

#include “ns3/ndnSIM-module.h”

using namespace ns3;

using namespace ns3::ndn;

int main(int argc, char* argv[]) {

CommandLine cmd;

cmd.Parse(argc, argv);

// Create nodes

NodeContainer nodes;

nodes.Create(3);

// Install NDN stack on nodes

ndn::StackHelper ndnHelper;

ndnHelper.InstallAll();

// Set up forwarding strategy

ndn::StrategyChoiceHelper::InstallAll(“/”, “/localhost/nfd/strategy/best-route”);

// Install applications

ndn::AppHelper consumerHelper(“ns3::ndn::ConsumerCbr”);

consumerHelper.SetAttribute(“Frequency”, StringValue(“10”)); // 10 Interests per second

consumerHelper.Install(nodes.Get(0)); // Consumer on node 0

ndn::AppHelper producerHelper(“ns3::ndn::Producer”);

producerHelper.SetPrefix(“/example”);

producerHelper.SetAttribute(“PayloadSize”, StringValue(“1024”)); // 1KB content

producerHelper.Install(nodes.Get(2)); // Producer on node 2

// Add a route

ndn::GlobalRoutingHelper ndnGlobalRoutingHelper;

ndnGlobalRoutingHelper.InstallAll();

ndnGlobalRoutingHelper.AddOrigins(“/example”, nodes.Get(2));

ndn::GlobalRoutingHelper::CalculateRoutes();

Simulator::Run();

Simulator::Destroy();

return 0;

}

6. Expand the Project

• Integrate aspects or scenarios that are related to the research:
  • Caching Policies: Execute and experiment the caching strategies such as Least Recently Used (LRU) or Least Frequently Used (LFU).
  • Forwarding Strategies: Test with forwarding policies like flooding, best-route, or adaptive forwarding.
  • Content Security: Add encryption or signature authentication for content security.
  • Performance Metrics: Estimate the performance parameters such as latency, cache hit ratio, and bandwidth utilization.

7. Test and Validate

• Execute the simulations including diverse scenarios and metrics.
• We will want to equate the performance outcomes for various routing approaches, caching mechanisms, or topologies.

8. Document and Analyze

• Record the simulation outcomes and findings.
• Envision the data to utilize Python or MATLAB tools.

9. Troubleshooting and Resources

• Recommend ndnSIM documentation and examples for guidance.
• Connect with the community via forums or mailing lists.
• Sort out simulation errors by studying record files and output.

10. Future Enhancements

• Incorporate with real datasets or traffic models.
• Discover hybrid architectures to add CCN with custom IP routing.

In this module, you can get more information on Content Centric Network projects, which were implemented and analyzed leveraging this uncomplicated method in NS3. Follow-up manual will offer additional specifies for this project-related queries.