Networking technologies and concepts are often difficult to explain, even through careful description and well thought out examples. One method for making this information stick is to create an environment where networking professionals and students can visualize how networks work, utilizing a software tool that simulates the functions within a network. The tool itself is highly useful in that it provides a virtual environment for an assortment of desirable features such as modeling a network based on specified criteria and predicting its performance.

The Network Simulation Experiments Manual takes this instructional tool a step further and provides detailed experiments on core networking topologies for use in this simulation environment. Various scenarios are presented within each topology and review questions, a lab report, and exercises accompany each assignment as well. The manual also comes with directions for downloading the free easy-to-install software, the OPNET IT Guru Academic Edition. This software provides a virtual environment for modeling, analyzing, and predicting the performance of IT infrastructures, including applications, servers, and networking technologies.

*The experiments in this manual are closely tied to Peterson/Davie: Computer Networks, 4E, a best-selling Morgan Kaufmann title

*Software download based on an award-winning product made by OPNET Technologies, Inc., whose software is used by thousands of commercial and government organizations worldwide, and by over 500 universities

*Useful experimentation for professionals in the workplace who are interested in learning & demonstrating the capability of evaluating different commercial networking products