How to Implement Fibre Channel Arbitrated Loop Topology in ns3

To implement Fibre Channel Arbitrated Loop (FC-AL) topology in ns3, we need to follow several steps. Because, ns3 does not directly support FC-AL so, here we have to use custom point-to-point connections that setup the network connected in a loop and communication arbitration logic need to be implemented to ensure that in only one device can communicate at a time.

The below given steps will guide on how to implement fibre Channel Arbitrated Loop Topology in ns3.

Step-by-step to implement FC-AL in ns3

Step 1: Install ns3

Make sure ns3 is installed on the system.

Step 2: Create a New Simulation Script

Create a new C++ script for the simulation.

Step 3: Include Necessary Headers

In your script, include the necessary ns3 headers:

#include “ns3/core-module.h”

#include “ns3/network-module.h”

#include “ns3/internet-module.h”

#include “ns3/point-to-point-module.h”

#include “ns3/applications-module.h”

Step 4: Set Up the FC-AL Topology

Below an example given for setting up an FC-AL topology with four nodes:

using namespace ns3;

NS_LOG_COMPONENT_DEFINE (“FcAlTopology”);

int main (int argc, char *argv[])

{

// Configure command line parameters

CommandLine cmd;

cmd.Parse (argc, argv);

// Create nodes

NodeContainer nodes;

nodes.Create (4); // Create 4 nodes for the FC-AL network

// Create point-to-point links to form a loop

PointToPointHelper pointToPoint;

pointToPoint.SetDeviceAttribute (“DataRate”, StringValue (“1Gbps”));

pointToPoint.SetChannelAttribute (“Delay”, StringValue (“1ms”));

NetDeviceContainer devices;

Ipv4AddressHelper address;

Ipv4InterfaceContainer interfaces;

for (uint32_t i = 0; i < nodes.GetN (); ++i)

{

NodeContainer pair (nodes.Get (i), nodes.Get ((i + 1) % nodes.GetN ()));

NetDeviceContainer devicePair = pointToPoint.Install (pair);

devices.Add (devicePair);

std::ostringstream subnet;

subnet << “10.1.” << i << “.0”;

address.SetBase (subnet.str ().c_str (), “255.255.255.0”);

interfaces.Add (address.Assign (devicePair));

}

// Install the internet stack

InternetStackHelper stack;

stack.Install (nodes);

// Implement simple arbitration logic using an application (e.g., UDP echo server and client)

uint16_t port = 9; // Port number for applications

// Install UDP Echo Server on node 0

UdpEchoServerHelper echoServer (port);

ApplicationContainer serverApps = echoServer.Install (nodes.Get (0));

serverApps.Start (Seconds (1.0));

serverApps.Stop (Seconds (10.0));

// Install UDP Echo Client on node 2 to communicate with node 0

UdpEchoClientHelper echoClient (interfaces.GetAddress (0), port);

echoClient.SetAttribute (“MaxPackets”, UintegerValue (1));

echoClient.SetAttribute (“Interval”, TimeValue (Seconds (1.0)));

echoClient.SetAttribute (“PacketSize”, UintegerValue (1024));

ApplicationContainer clientApps = echoClient.Install (nodes.Get (2));

clientApps.Start (Seconds (2.0));

clientApps.Stop (Seconds (10.0));

// Run simulation

Simulator::Stop (Seconds (10.0));

Simulator::Run ();

Simulator::Destroy ();

return 0;

}

Step 5: Build and Run the Simulation

1. Save the script as fc-al-topology.cc.
2. Build the script using waf:

./waf configure –enable-examples

./waf build

1. Run the simulation:

./waf –run scratch/fc-al-topology

Explanation of the Script

• Node Creation: Creates four nodes for the FC-AL network.
• Point-to-Point Links: Configures point-to-point links to form a loop topology, ensuring each node is connected to the next, with the last node connecting back to the first.
• Internet Stack: Installs the internet stack on all nodes.
• IP Addressing: Assigns IP addresses to the network links.
• Applications: Sets up a UDP echo server on node 0 and a UDP echo client on node 2 to demonstrate communication between nodes.

Here we had provided the instructions to implement the FC-AL in ns3 by creating network in that nodes are connected in a loop and configuring the point-to-point links to simulate the loop topology.

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