A method for validating the aggregated signaling traffic model using simulations in ns-2 platform

Abstract

In the architectures of the networks, which offer Quality of Service (QoS), the setup procedure is the exchange of signaling messages to agree the codec of the multimedia applications and to reserve the resources in the network. This exchange of packets between two or more signaling entities causes that this traffic strongly depends on the network scenario and network conditions. Therefore, it is very difficult to find general signaling traffic models, which are valid for any scenario. In this paper we propose a method for validating the aggregated signaling traffic model. This validation is performed using our own developed module of the ns-2 simulator, which simulates the signaling message exchange during the connection setup in an IP based network with QoS guaranties. For this new simulation tool, we provide technical description and discuss some implementation issues under ns-2 platform. The final results of the validation process show under what traffic conditions the versatile Poisson model is valid. The drawn conclusions provide some guidelines for the usage of analytical models in the network provisioning process concerned with signaling traffic.