A Survey of Peer-to-Peer Network Simulators

As scientists, our research must be tested and evaluated in order for it to be shown to be valid. Part of this process includes providing reproducible results so that peers are able to confirm any findings. The techniques used to achieve this include analytical solutions, simulators and experiments with the actual system, however in the area of Peer-to-Peer (P2P) computing, this gives rise to a number of challenges. In this paper, we focus on P2P simulators by surveying a number of P2P simulators with respect to important criteria when simulating a P2P system. Simulators are compared, usage experiences are given and limitations are discussed. The survey shows that while there are a plethora of simulators, there are many issues such as poor scalability, little or no documentation, steep learning curves, and system limitations that makes using these simulators a convoluted process.