Simulating Wireless Networks using

OPNET Modeler
Tutorial on OPNET Modeler
By: Mukesh Singh Rawat
Email: mukesh@it.iitb.ac.in

KReSIT IIT Bombay

Objective

This tutorial focuses on the use of Opnets

Project Editor
The Project Editor will allow you to quickly
create, simulate, and analyze the performance
of a computer network
By the end of this tutorial you should be able
to:

Build the network quickly

Collect statistics about networks performance
Analyze these statistics

Objective

In this tutorial:
We will build small wireless networks
We will chose the statistics to collect
Run a simulation
Analyze the result
Generating web report

Project and Scenario

When creating new network model you
must first create project and scenario
Project:
A group of related scenarios that each
explore different aspect of network model
Can contain multiple scenarios
Once you finished with project creation, you
can use startup wizard to create new
scenario

Creating a Project
From the file menu choose New
Select Project from popup menu and
click OK
Name the Project <Project_Yourname>
and the scenario as <WirelessModel>

Yourname in the Project Name will

distinguish Project from others projects

Click OK

Scenario

The Scenario Wizard is shown

Follow the steps according to the following
table
Box
Value

Initial Topology

Create empty
scenario

Click Next

Network Scale

Office

Click Next

Size

100 m x 100 m

Click Next

Model Family

Wireless LAN

Click Next

Review check values

Click Finish

Creating network topologies

There are three way to create network

topologies
Importing the topology
Placing each individual node from object
palette into workplace
Creating new network topology is by using
the Rapid Configuration feature

Creating topology using placing

individual node from object palette

Adding Components:
If it is not already open, open the object
palette by clicking on the Object Palette
action button (first button on the left)
Find the ethernet_server object in the
palette and drag it into the workspace
You dont need additional copies of this
model, so right-click to turn off node
creation

Adding Components

You also need to have an Access Point for

modeling infrastructure based network
You also need to connect this Access Point to
ethernet_network server

Find the 10BaseT link object in the palette, click on

it and drag it to the workspace
Click on the server object, then click on the access
point object. A link is drawn, connecting the two
objects
Right-click to turn off link creation

Adding Components

You also need to have some wireless stations

in your model

Find the wlan_wkstn object in the object palette

Select it then drag it into the work space and drop it
You can make any number of copies of
wlan_wkstn by just clicking
Make the five copies of wlan_wkstn into work
space
Right click to finish

It should look something like this

Adding Components

Finally you need to add configuration objects

to specify the application traffic that will exist
on the network

Find the Application Config object in the palette

and drag it into the workspace
Right-click to indicate you are finished placing this
kind of object
Find the Profile Config object in the palette and
drag it into the workspace
Close the object palette

It should look something like this

Adding Attributes
You can change the properties of
objects by editing the attributes
Right click on the object you want to
edit
Choose Edit attributes

Adding traffic to the network

In order to add the traffic into the

network, edit the properties of the
following objects:

Application Definition:

Set the application definition to default

It looks like this

Adding traffic to the network

Edit the Profile Configuration

Edit the Profile Configuration in the new
window
Put number 2 in rows
Set the values as shown in the following
slide

It looks like this

Profile Configuration cont

Click on the application for each profile

name and choose Edit

Enter the values for profile WebApp as

shown in the following slide

It will look like this

Profile Configuration cont

Now perform the same for profile

WirelessApp

Edit the application as shown in the

following slide

It will look like this

Adding the traffic

Now that you are done with Application

and Profile, next you need to add traffic
in each work station
Select node_2 right click on it
Select Edit attribute
Do this for all the workstations

It will look like the image in the next slide

Adding traffic to node

Adding the traffic

Enter 2 in the number of Rows, it is at
bottom left side of window
Click on the Profile Name and select
WebApp in the first row and
WirelessApp in the second row
Click OK to finish setting
It will look like image in the next slide

It will look like this

Connect to server
You also need to make it connected with
the server.
Right click on the server then choose
edit attributes.
Under Application: set Application
Supported Service attribute to ALL
for the value field. It should look like this

Connect to server

Enable AP functionality at
WLAN_Router (default: enabled)

Choose Statistics
Now that you added the traffic, you are
ready to collect some statistics
There are two ways to collect statistics

You can collect statistics from individual

nodes in your network (object statistics)
From the entire network as a whole (global
statistics)

Server Statistics
Right Click on the server then select
Choose Individual DES statistics
Click the plus sign next to Ethernet in
the Choose Results dialog box
Click on to the check box next to the
Delay (sec) and Load (bits/sec)

It will look like this

Global Statistics

Global statistics can be used to gather

information about the network as a whole.
For example, you can find out the throughput
for the entire network by collecting the global
Throughput statistic

Right-click in the project workspace

Select Choose Individual DES Statistics from the
Workspace pop-up menu
Click the plus sign next to Global Statistics in the
choose Results dialog box

Global Statistics
Click on to the plus sign next to the
Wireless LAN
Check the box next to the Delay (Sec),
Load (bits/sec) and Throughput
(bits/sec)
Click OK do diminish the Choose
Statistics dialogue box
SAVE the project

Global Statistics

Run the simulation

Now you have finished with all configurations,

and you are ready to run the simulation

Click on to the DES in the menu bar, and Choose

Configure/Run Discrete Events Simulation
Type 10 minutes
Choose Simulation Kernel as kernel_type
preference
Click on to Run to run the simulation

Run the simulation

While the simulation is running, the

window will appear, showing the
simulations progress

Shown in the next slide

When the simulation is finished, click the

Close button in the Simulation Sequence
dialog box

Run the simulation

Simulation Results

Once you finished with executing, you

will want to see information collected for
each statistics

You can see result graphically by:

Right Click into the Project work space and

select View Results

Simulation Results

To view server Ethernet load:

Right click on to the server and select view
result
Click on to the Ethernet check box and
select the buttons in front of the Delay and
Load
Select average and then click on Show
button
It will look like next slide
Click Close to diminish window

Ethernet Server Statistics

Simulation Results cont

You finished with Individual results, now you may want

to view Global Statistics
You may want to view the wireless delay, load, and
throughput of the whole system. To view this:

Right click into project workspace and select View results

from pop-up menu
Check the Global statistics and then click on to the Wireless
LAN, and then select Delay, Load, Throughput
Select the average and then click to the Show button to show
the results to view the Delay, Load and Throughput of the
whole system
It will look like the next slide
Close when you finished with viewing results

Global Statistics

Animation
To view animation click on to the DES
menu and select Record Packet Flow
animation for subnet and Record
nodes movement animation for
subnet
But you have to do it before you run the
simulation

Animation

Animation

Then Run the simulation, after simulation

finishes, click on to the DES menu and
select Play Animation

Generate and Launch web

report

You can generate the HTML web report

of your simulation which show all graphs,
and various other statistics
To generate web report just click on the
DES menu, go to the Result and select
Generate Web Report from the list
For launching the web report just follow the
above steps but select Launch last Web
Report

Debugging

The good debugging tool is Simulation

Log you can check your warnings and
errors

To view the Log click on the DES menu and

select Open DES Log

Thanks