The Programmable Network Prototyping System

The Programmable Network Prototyping System (PNPS), which is a rapid-prototyping tool used for emulating a wide variety of communication networks, is discussed. There are two parts to the PNPS hardware: the reusable hardware modules and the control and observation system. The reusable hardware modules consist of a channel emulator and a collection of node emulators. The channel emulator can be programmed to behave like a variety of network topologies, and each node emulator is configured to behave like a node on a network under study. The control and observation system links these modules together for configuration, experimentation, and monitoring purposes. There are three phases to using PNPS. first, the various components of a proposed network are designed. Next, the components are combined and run on the hardware while its behavior is monitored. Finally, the monitoring data is analyzed in order to evaluate the network design. A menu-driven user interface guides the user through the various tools of the system