Simulation of load limitation and interface performance in an IN configuration

We describe a practical approach towards simulation in the course of IN-software development. Simulation is justified by the following facts. (i) A substantially reduced software development cycle is possible. Analysis and prediction of the development outcome during the design phase is an important issue to fulfil rapid software engineering requirements. (ii) The number and the performance of each component/node is steadily increasing. This implies increasing costs for providing a physical test environment. Preliminary testing performed via simulation can reduce the test time and therefore reduce the time to reserve these physical resources. (iii) Some configurations (e.g. 2000 SSF nodes) are beyond reasonable limits for providing a physical test environment at all (even if test drivers can be used)