NCS: Network and Cache Simulator An Introduction

NCS (Network and Cache Simulator) is an HTTP trace-driven discrete event simulator of network and caching activity. It is highly parameterized for maximal compatibility with previous caching and network simulations. In granularity, it resides between the high-level caching-only simulators prominant in much Web caching research, and the detailed simulators of networking protocols and traffic. In an effort to capture estimates of user-perceived latency, it simulates simplistic caching and prefetching functionality at various locations in a network comprising of client browsers, an optional intermediate proxy, and Web servers. Caching at the proxy and clients is optional. Additionally, it simulates many aspects of TCP traffic among these entities on a somewhat idealized network. In this report we motivate the development of NCS and describe its features and capabilities. We additionally provide a number of sample experiments showing the simulator’s utility in a variety of contexts.