How to Begin Implement a Data Center Networking in NS3

To create a Data Center Networking (DCN) in ns3 tool has includes the replicate a communication among the servers, switches and controllers in a data center. This replication can be used for examine the network performance and verify the protocols or discover the new planning such as fat-tree or Clos networks

Here’s how to get started:

Steps to Begin Implement a Data Center Networking in NS3

1. Understand Data Center Networking

• Key Components:
  • Servers: End hosts which build or develop data.
  • Switches: Devices are linking the servers and route traffic.
  • Links: High-speed links among the servers and switches.
  • Controllers: The controllers are centralized or distributed control systems.
• Common Architectures:
  • Fat-Tree: A hierarchical model intended for scalability.
  • Clos: The multi-stage switch network designed for low latency.
  • Leaf-Spine: Two-tier topology aimed at the high bandwidth.
• Goals of Simulation:
  • Estimate the aim for metrices such as throughput, latency, and packet loss.
  • Validate the routing protocols or scheduling procedures.

2. Set up ns-3 Environment

1. Install ns-3:

git clone https://gitlab.com/nsnam/ns-3-dev.git

cd ns-3-dev

./build.py

1. Validate the installation:

./ns3 run hello-simulator

3. Plan Data Center Network Topology

• Nodes:
  • Servers (end hosts).
  • Switches (core, aggregation, and edge).
• Topology:
  • Select the network topology, like as a fat-tree by many levels of switches.
• Traffic Patterns:
  • It replicate the congestion flows such as all-to-all, one-to-many, or distributed.

4. Write the Simulation Script
5. Include Necessary Headers

#include “ns3/core-module.h”

#include “ns3/network-module.h”

#include “ns3/internet-module.h”

#include “ns3/point-to-point-module.h”

#include “ns3/applications-module.h”

1. Define Nodes

ns3::NodeContainer servers, edgeSwitches, aggSwitches, coreSwitches;

servers.Create(16);       // 16 servers

edgeSwitches.Create(4);   // 4 edge switches

aggSwitches.Create(2);    // 2 aggregation switches

coreSwitches.Create(1);   // 1 core switch

1. Set Up Point-to-Point Links

ns3::PointToPointHelper p2p;

p2p.SetDeviceAttribute(“DataRate”, ns3::StringValue(“1Gbps”));

p2p.SetChannelAttribute(“Delay”, ns3::StringValue(“2ms”));

// Connect servers to edge switches

for (uint32_t i = 0; i < servers.GetN(); ++i) {

p2p.Install(servers.Get(i), edgeSwitches.Get(i / 4)); // Each edge switch connects to 4 servers

}

// Connect edge switches to aggregation switches

for (uint32_t i = 0; i < edgeSwitches.GetN(); ++i) {

p2p.Install(edgeSwitches.Get(i), aggSwitches.Get(i / 2)); // Each agg switch connects to 2 edge switches

}

// Connect aggregation switches to the core switch

for (uint32_t i = 0; i < aggSwitches.GetN(); ++i) {

p2p.Install(aggSwitches.Get(i), coreSwitches.Get(0));

}

1. Install Internet Stack

ns3::InternetStackHelper internet;

internet.Install(servers);

internet.Install(edgeSwitches);

internet.Install(aggSwitches);

internet.Install(coreSwitches);

ns3::Ipv4AddressHelper address;

ns3::Ipv4InterfaceContainer interfaces;

// Assign IP addresses

uint32_t subnetIndex = 0;

for (uint32_t i = 0; i < servers.GetN(); ++i) {

std::ostringstream subnet;

subnet << “10.1.” << subnetIndex << “.0”;

address.SetBase(subnet.str().c_str(), “255.255.255.0”);

interfaces.Add(address.Assign(p2p.GetNetDeviceContainer(servers.Get(i), edgeSwitches.Get(i / 4))));

subnetIndex++;

}

1. Add Applications

// Server 0 acts as a packet sink

ns3::PacketSinkHelper sinkHelper(“ns3::UdpSocketFactory”, ns3::InetSocketAddress(ns3::Ipv4Address::GetAny(), 9));

ns3::ApplicationContainer sinkApp = sinkHelper.Install(servers.Get(0));

sinkApp.Start(ns3::Seconds(1.0));

sinkApp.Stop(ns3::Seconds(10.0));

// Other servers send traffic to Server 0

ns3::OnOffHelper onOffHelper(“ns3::UdpSocketFactory”, ns3::InetSocketAddress(interfaces.GetAddress(0), 9));

onOffHelper.SetAttribute(“DataRate”, ns3::StringValue(“500Mbps”));

onOffHelper.SetAttribute(“PacketSize”, ns3::UintegerValue(1024));

for (uint32_t i = 1; i < servers.GetN(); ++i) {

ns3::ApplicationContainer app = onOffHelper.Install(servers.Get(i));

app.Start(ns3::Seconds(2.0));

app.Stop(ns3::Seconds(10.0));

}

1. Run the Simulation

ns3::Simulator::Run();

ns3::Simulator::Destroy();

5. Analyze and Visualize Results

Metrics:

• Network Metrics:
  • The performances of metrices are including the network such as throughput, latency, and packet delivery ratio.
• Link Utilization:
  • It utilizes their connection for monitor traffic on every connection for estimate the bottlenecks.

Tracing and Logging:

ns3::AsciiTraceHelper ascii;

p2p.EnableAsciiAll(ascii.CreateFileStream(“dcn.tr”));

p2p.EnablePcapAll(“dcn”);

Visualization:

• Use for animation tool like NetAnim:

./waf –run “dcn-simulation –vis”

6. Iterate and Enhance

• Scale Up:
  • Increase the number of servers and switches.
  • Used the fat-tree or Clos design.
• Traffic Patterns:
  • It replicates a further difficult design such as shuffle or incast.
• Routing Protocols:
  • Execute the custom routing procedures or use dynamic routing protocols.
• Advanced Features:
  • Incorporate the Quality of Service (QoS) procedures.
  • It improves the failure and recovery mechanisms.

Finally, we discussed about how to implement and procedure the Data Center network in ns3 environment clearly. We also make available all kinds of Data Center network that adjust in various environments.