1. Introduction

The ns-3 simulator is a discrete-event network simulator targeted primarily for research and educational use. The ns-3 project, started in 2006, is an open-source project developing ns-3.

Primary documentation for the ns-3 project is available in four forms:

• ns-3 Doxygen/Manual: Documentation of the public APIs of the simulator
• Tutorial (this document)
• Reference Manual: Reference Manual
• ns-3 wiki

The purpose of this tutorial is to introduce new ns-3 users to the system in a structured way. It is sometimes difficult for new users to glean essential information from detailed manuals and to convert this information into working simulations. In this tutorial, we will build several example simulations, introducing and explaining key concepts and features as we go.

As the tutorial unfolds, we will introduce the full ns-3 documentation and provide pointers to source code for those interested in delving deeper into the workings of the system.

A few key points are worth noting at the onset:

• Ns-3 is not an extension of ns-2; it is a new simulator. The two simulators are both written in C++ but ns-3 is a new simulator that does not support the ns-2 APIs. Some models from ns-2 have already been ported from ns-2 to ns-3. The project will continue to maintain ns-2 while ns-3 is being built, and will study transition and integration mechanisms.
• Ns-3 is open-source, and the project strives to maintain an open environment for researchers to contribute and share their software.

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