To scale the number of nodes in an emulation scenario beyond the available computers, we discuss approaches to virtualization and operating system partitioning. However, meaningful emulation scenario sizes often require more nodes than affordable computers. Reproducing the network properties of the medium access control layer can be accomplished efficiently on cheap common off the shelf computers and allows to evaluate network protocols, transport protocols, and applications.
Meaningful evaluation scenarios typically involve a large number of communicating nodes. Since network properties are reproduced synthetically, emulation supports reproducible measurement results for wired and wireless networks.
Computer network emulation enables the execution of real unmodified protocol implementations within a configurable synthetic environment. The performance of new protocol implementations has to be evaluated before deployment.
Ongoing development of computer network technology requires new communication protocols on all layers of the protocol stack to adapt to and to exploit technology specifics.
