Peer-to-peer simulation frameworks : a survey

Abstract

Peer-to-peer (p2p) protocols, like all distributed protocols, are complex, and therefore harder to debug and study in the wild. This is more true of existing p2p protocols, where changing the behaviour of the protocol --- however minor the change may be --- may result in unknown manifestations on the dynamics of the swarm using that protocol. In lieu of the unintended consequences of perturbing a live swarm, researchers have resorted to simulation frameworks. However, simulation results obtained from one simulator are often hard to reproduce when using another simulation framework. This document surveys existing simulator frameworks prevalent in simulating p2p protocols today in order to quantify any assumptions and characteristics inherent in the simulator. This, we hope, will aid future researchers in choosing the right simulation framework for their abstraction.