Abstract
Recently, various network protocols have been developed to keep step with the rapid growth of Internet users. For the education of students in the computer networks classes, there have been many attempts to allow students experiment routers setting, operations and management of networks by themselves, in addition to the classroom lectures based on textbooks. One of the attempts is to install expensive real router experiment sets in laboratories for students, and one another is using router and network simulators for virtual experiments. This paper presents the design and implementation of NetSim, a scalable, component-based simulator environment for the network experimentation. NetSim expands the existing component-based JavaSim simulation tool for the education purpose, and it allows the design and experiment of various networks and protocols. For the evaluation of NetSim, it is shown that the network design and RIP-based router setting process is possible in NetSim.
