Lab 2
Lab 2
Lab 2
Introduction
In this lesson, you will see how OPNET Modeler can
do organizational scaling to solve a typical “what if”
problem. You will learn how to use OPNET Modeler
features to build and analyze network models. This
lesson focuses on the use of the Project Editor, and
how it will be used with the Node and Process editors
in later lessons. In this lesson, you will
• Build a network quickly
• Collect statistics about network performance
• Analyze these statistics
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In this lesson, you plan for the expansion of a small
company’s intranet. Currently, the company has a star
topology network on the first floor of its office building
and plans to add an additional star topology network
on another floor. You will build and test this “what-if”
scenario to ensure that the load added by the second
network will not cause the network to fail.
The Final Network
First floor
Planned expansion
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Getting Started
When creating a new network model, you must first
create a new project and scenario. A project is a
group of related scenarios that each explore a different
aspect of the network. Projects can contain multiple
scenarios.
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To use the Startup Wizard to set up a new scenario, do
the following:
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Values to Enter in the Startup Wizard
Dialog Box Name Value
1. Initial Topology Select the default value:
Create empty scenario.
2. Choose Network Scale Select Office. Select the
Use metric units checkbox.
3. Specify Size Select the default size:
100 m x 100 m
4. Select Technologies Include the Sm_Int_Model_List
model family.
5. Review Check values, then click Finish.
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Creating the Network
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You can use any of three methods to create a network
topology, or a combination of all three. One method is
to import the topology (discussed in a later lesson).
Another is to place individual nodes from the object
palette into the workspace. The third method is to use
Rapid Configuration.
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Specify the node models and link models in the
network. Models follow this naming scheme:
Generic Devices:
<protocol1>_..._<protocoln>_<function>_<mod>
Vendor Devices:
<Vendor>_<Chassis/Make>_<protocol1>
where:
• <protocol> specifies the specific protocol(s)
supported by the model
• <function> is an abbreviation of the general
function of the model
• <mod> indicates the level of derivation of the
model
For example:
ethernet2_bridge_int
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Vendor models have an additional prefix that specifies
the vendor and the vendor product number for that
particular network object.
3C_SSII_1100_3300_4s_ae52_e48_ge3
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3 Set the Link Model to 10BaseT.
3 Click OK.
➥ The network is drawn in the Project Editor.
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The First Floor Network
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You will not find this exact server model on other
object palettes because we created it with the
correct configuration for this tutorial.
By default, you can create additional instances of
the same object by left-clicking after the initial
“drag-and-drop” from the palette.
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You also need to connect the server to the star
network.
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You need only drag the objects into your network.
Doing so means that the traffic caused by workstations
accessing a database at a low rate will be modeled.
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The network is now built and should look similar to the
following figure.
The Finished First Floor Network
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However, first let’s explore the Node and Process
Editors.
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Let’s explore the node model that controls the server in
the first floor network:
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Ethernet Server Node Model
modules
packet streams
statistic wire
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Packet Processing by the Node Model
After processing,
packets are sent by the
hub transmitter object
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Example Process Model
transitions
states
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Opening the Enter Exec or Exit Exec of a State
Click in the top
half of the
state to open
an enter exec
Click in the
bottom half to
open an exit
exec
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transition from reg to wait (solid line) is
unconditional, and occurs whenever the code in
the reg state has finished execution.
Conditional and Unconditional Transitions
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Collecting Statistics
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Server load is a key statistic that reflects the
performance of the entire network. To collect statistics
related to the server’s load, do the following steps:
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Choose Results Dialog Box
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Global statistics can be used to gather information
about the network as a whole. For example, you can
find out the delay for the entire network by collecting
the global Delay statistic:
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2 Expand the Global Statistics hierarchy.
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3 If the Value field for the Network Simulation
Repositories preference is not stdmod, click on
the field.
➥ The Network Simulation Repositories dialog
box opens.
To run a simulation:
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Configure Discrete Event Simulation Dialog Box
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8 If your simulation does not complete, if no results
were collected, or if the results vary significantly
from those shown, you will have to troubleshoot
your simulation. See "Troubleshooting Tutorials".
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Viewing Results
After your simulation has executed, you will want to
see the information collected for each statistic. There
are several ways to view results; in this lesson you will
use the View Results option in the Workspace pop-up
menu.
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The graph of the server load should resemble the
following graph. Your results may differ slightly due to
differences in node placement and link length, but the
general trends should be consistent.
Server Load Graph
bits/second. The
unit of measure
on this axis is
shown in the
statistic in the
Choose Results
dialog box
Simulation time, in
minutes
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When you finish viewing the server load graph, close
this dialog box and the Results Browser. (If the system
prompts you, choose to delete the graph panel.)
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Viewing Ethernet Delay for the Whole Network
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Ethernet Delay Graph
Seconds
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Expanding the Network
You have created a baseline network and gathered
statistics about it. Now you are ready to expand the
network and verify that it still operates sufficiently well
with the additional load.
To duplicate a scenario:
3 Click OK.
➥ The scenario, with all the nodes, links,
statistics, and the simulation configuration, is
duplicated and named expansion.
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The second-floor segment will resemble the first-floor
segment, but will not have a server of its own. To build
the new segment:
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4 Click OK to create the network.
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5 Create 10BaseT links between the Cisco router
(node_50) and the 3Com switches at the center
of each star.
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The final network should look like this:
The Final Network
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2 Click the Detailed… button, if it appears, and
verify that the Duration is set to 0.5 hours and the
Update interval is set to 10000.
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4 When the simulation is done, close the Simulation
Progress dialog box. If you had problems, see
"Troubleshooting Tutorials".
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Comparing Results
To answer the questions posed about the addition of a
second network to the existing LAN, you need to
compare the results from both of the simulations you
ran.
You will use the View Results menu item in the Object
and Workspace pop-up menus to combine statistics
from different scenarios in the same graph.
bits/second
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The following graph is the time average of the Ethernet
load between the baseline (first_floor) scenario and
the expansion scenario. You will learn how to create a
graph of the time average in the next lesson.
Time-Averaged Server Load Compared
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The last step is to see how much the network’s delay is
affected by adding a second floor. To compare
Ethernet delay for the two scenarios:
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Ethernet Delay Compared
Seconds
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Now you are ready to go on to the M/M/1 Queue
tutorial. This lesson explores the use of node models
in the workflow. Return to the main tutorial menu and
choose M/M/1 Queue from the list of available
lessons. Or choose another tutorial of interest.
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