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NetAnim is an animator based on the multi-platform Qt 4 toolkit.
{{TOC}}
NetAnim currently animates the simulation using an XML trace file collected during simulation.
 
NetAnim is an offline animator based on the Qt toolkit.
It animates a previously executed simulation using an XML trace file generated during a simulation. The first version was developed by George F Riley.  The current version was largely developed by John Abraham.  NetAnim has not been actively maintained/improved since 2017.


[[Image:NetAnim3.png|thumb|The NetAnim GUI]]  
[[Image:NetAnim3.png|thumb|The NetAnim GUI]]  


== NetAnim Versions ==
* NetAnim 3.109 is compatible with ns-3.38 through the current version.
** 3.109 is a minor release that removes Qt4 support and fixes some compiler warnings


== Feature-set in NetAnim 3.0 ==
* [[ NetAnim 3.108 ]] was first bundled with ns-3.27 and is compatible through ns-3.37 (and even ns-3.38)
** Animate wired-links and wireless-links based simulations
** Complete redesign using the QGraphics framework
** Packet statistics with filter
** Node position statistics with node trajectory plotting
** Improved window re-sizing and zooming
 
== Prerequisites ==
# mercurial
# QT4 development packages (recommended version 4.7)
 
=== Debian/Ubuntu Linux distribution:===
# apt-get install mercurial
# apt-get install qt4-dev-tools
 
=== Red Hat/Fedora based distribution:===
# yum install mercurial
# yum install qt4
# yum install qt4-devel
 
=== Mac/OSX ===
# mercurial
# Qt4 : Install Qt4 (including Qt Creator if possible) from http://qt.nokia.com/downloads/
 
== Downloading NetAnim ==
* NetAnim 3.0:
 
hg clone http://code.nsnam.org/jabraham3/netanim
 
* NetAnim 2.0:
Go to this link [[NetAnim2]]
 
* NetAnim 1.0:
Go to this link [[NetAnim 1.0]]
 
== Building NetAnim==
NetAnim uses a QT4 build tool called qmake. Only qmake version 4.7 is supported
Please read the [[#Prerequisites]] before proceeding
 
=== In General ===
 
cd netanim
make clean
qmake NetAnim.pro   
make
 
'''Note: qmake could be "qmake-qt4" in some systems
'''
 
This should create an executable named "NetAnim" in the same directory
 
== Using NetAnim ==
Using NetAnim is a two-step process.
 
Step 1: Generate the animation XML trace file during simulation using "ns3::AnimationInterface" in the ns-3 code base
 
Step 2: Load the XML trace file generated in Step 1 with the offline animator (NetAnim).
 
=== Using ns3::AnimationInterface to generate Animation trace files===
 
The NetAnim application requires a custom trace file for animation. 
This trace file is created by [http://www.nsnam.org/doxygen/classns3_1_1_animation_interface.html AnimationInterface] in ns-3.  
# Model is at: src/netanim/model
# Examples are at src/netanim/examples
 
==== Recommended set of steps ====
Here is the recommended set of steps for generating XML Animation traces.They must be applied just before the "Simulation::Run" statement.
 
'''NOTE: A node must have an associated mobility model in-order to be displayed on the animation.
This applies for both stationary and mobile nodes (See notes below) '''
  0. Ensure that your wscript includes the "netanim" module. Example as in: src/netanim/examples/wscript. Also include the header [#include "ns3/netanim-module.h"] in your test program
  1. AnimationInterface anim ("animation.xml")
  2. anim.SetMobilityPollInterval (Seconds (1));[OPTIONAL]
  3. anim.SetConstantPosition (Ptr< Node > n, double x, double y); [OPTIONAL]
  4. Simulator::Run();
 
Try to keep the above as close as possible to the "Simulator::Run()" statement
 
==== Running an Example File to generate XML trace file ====
 
The netanim example files are located under "src/netanim/examples"
 
  ./waf --run "dumbbell-animation --nLeftLeaf=5 --nRightLeaf=5 --animFile=dumbbell.xml"
  ./waf --run "grid-animation --xSize=5 --ySize=5 --animFile=grid.xml"
 
 
==== Setting the location of nodes ====
NetAnim requires a location to be assigned to each Node, in-order to be shown on the animation.
 
===== For stationary nodes: =====
* You should assign the ConstantPositionMobilityModel. Constant Position is a kind of mobility.
Here is an example:
 
  1. Ptr<Node> n = nodecontainer.Get (1);
  2. AnimationInterface anim ("anim.xml");
  2. anim.SetConstantPosition (n, 100, 200);
 
where
 
  1. Get a Ptr to Node from the node container
  2. Instantiate an object of type AnimationInterface
  3. Set a node pointed to by "n" to the x-coordinate of 100 and y-coordinate of 200
 
===== For mobile nodes =====
* You should assign any suitable Mobility model.
The examples for these are found in places such as src/mobility/examples or examples/routing/manet-routing-compare.cc etc
 
The ns3::AnimationInterface class is responsible for the creation of the xml trace files. Currently, in basic-mode, AnimationInterface records the position of the nodes at every periodic interval. This interval is 200 ms by default. This will become more efficient in future releases. This has the potential to cause
a. Slowness in simulation
b. Large XML trace files
 
Some ways to get around this is to identify if your topology has
# only stationary nodes and hence no mobility
# or slow-moving nodes
 
If the above is the case you should use AnimationInterface::SetMobilityPollInterval to set the poll interval to a high value.
 
== Using the XML trace with NetAnim ==
 
* Here is a youtube video demonstrating Animation for Wired transmission [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQ2yMKZRAfM click here]
* Here is a youtube video demonstrating Animation for Wireless transmission [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dZcMhdULmw click here]
* Here is a youtube video demonstrating Animation for Node trajectory [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYRxDzeWxkA click here]
 
=== The update rate slider ===
 
* Update rate slider: [[File:Updateperiod.png]]
This slider controls the interval between updating animation. If it is low, more packets will be animated, but the simulation progress will be slow
<font color=red>'''If it is high, some packets may get skipped, although the simulation may progress faster.
'''</font color>
 
 
== Understanding the XML trace file format ==
=== Parts of the XML ===
The XML trace files has the following main sections
# Topology
## Nodes
## Links
# packets (packets over wired-links)
# wpackets (packets over wireless-links.LTE not supported)
 
=== XML tags ===
Nodes are identified by their unique Node id.
The XML begins with the "information" element describing the rest of the elements
 
==== <anim> element ====
This is the XML root element. All other elements fall within this element
  Attributes are:
    lp = Logical Processor Id (Used for distributed simulations only)
 
====  <topology> element ====
This elements contains the Node and Link elements.It describes, the
co-ordinates of the canvas used for animation.
  Attributes are:
    minX = minimum X coordinate of the animation canvas
    minY = minimum Y coordinate of the animation canvas
    maxX = maximum X coordinate of the animation canvas
    maxY = maximum Y coordinate of the animation canvas
  Example:
  <topology minX = "-6.42025" minY = "-6.48444" maxX = "186.187" maxY = "188.049">
 
==== <node> element ====
This element describes each Node's Id and X,Y co-ordinate (position)
 
  Attributes are:
    lp = Logical Processor Id (Used for distributed simulations only)
    id = Node Id
    locX = X coordinate
    locY = Y coordinate
 
  Example:
  <node lp = "0" id = "8" locX = "107.599" locY = "96.9366" />
 
==== <link> element ====
This element describes wired links between two nodes.
 
  Attributes are:
    fromLp = From logical processor Id  (Used for distributed simulations only)
    fromId = From Node Id (first node id)
    toLp  = To logical processor Id
    toId  = To Node Id (second node id)
 
  Example:
  <link fromLp="0" fromId="0" toLp="0" toId="1"/>
 
====  <packet> element ====
This element describes a packet over wired links being transmitted at some node and received at another
The reception details is described in it associated rx element
 
  Attributes are:
    fromLp = From logical processor Id  (Used for distributed simulations only)
    fromId = Node Id transmitting the packet
    fbTx = First bit transmit time of the packet
    lbTx = Last bit transmit time of the packet
 
  Example:
  <packet fromLp="0" fromId="1" fbTx="1" lbTx="1.000067199"><rx toLp="0" toId="0" fbRx="1.002" lbRx="1.002067199"/>
  Packet over wired-links from Node 1 was received at Node 0. The first bit of the packet was transmitted at  the 1th second, the last bit was transmitted at the
  1.000067199th second of the simulation
  Node 0 received the first bit of the packet at the 1.002th second and the last bit of the packet at the 1.002067199th second of the simulation
 
NOTE: A packet with fromId == toId is a dummy packet used internally by the AnimationInterface.Please ignore this packet
 
===== <rx> element =====
This element describes the reception of a packet at a node
 
  Attributes are:
    toLp = To logical processor Id
    toId = Node Id receiving the packet
    fbRx = First bit Reception Time of the packet
    lbRx = Last bit Reception Time of the packet
 
==== <wpacket> element ====
This element describes a packet over wireless links being transmitted at some node and received at another
The reception details is described in it associated rx element
 
  Attributes are:
    fromLp = From logical processor Id (Used in distributed simulations only)
    fromId = Node Id transmitting the packet
    fbTx = First bit transmit time of the packet
    lbTx = Last bit transmit time of the packet
    range = Range of the transmission
 
  Example:
  <wpacket fromLp = "0" fromId = "20" fbTx = "0.003" lbTx = "0.003254" range = "59.68176982">
  <rx toLp="0" toId="32" fbRx="0.003000198" lbRx="0.003254198"/>
  Packet over wireless-links from Node 20 was received at Node 32. The first bit of the packet was transmitted at  the 0.003th second,
  the last bit was transmitted at the
  0.003254 second of the simulation
  Node 0 received the first bit of the packet at the 0.003000198 second and the last bit of the packet at the 0.003254198 second of the simulation
 
== F.A.Q ==
* I get
/usr/bin/ld: cannot find -lsqlite3
/usr/bin/ld: cannot find -lpng14
/usr/bin/ld: cannot find -lintl
>>> Try removing the corresponding "-l" phrases from the LIBS variable in NetAnim.pro
 
* I get GLib-GIO:ERROR:gdbusconnection.c:2279:initable_init: assertion failed: (connection->initialization_error == NULL)Aborted (core dumped)
>>> Don't install or run NetAnim as a root-user
 
* I get
QImage: XPM pixels missing on image line 9 (possibly a C++ trigraph).
QImage: XPM pixels missing on image line 10 (possibly a C++ trigraph).
QImage: XPM pixels missing on image line 11 (possibly a C++ trigraph).
QImage: XPM pixels missing on image line 12 (possibly a C++ trigraph).
QImage: XPM pixels missing on image line 13 (possibly a C++ trigraph).
QImage: XPM pixels missing on image line 14 (possibly a C++ trigraph)
 
>>> These can be ignored


* I am unable to see any packets animated
* [[ NetAnim 3.107 ]]


>>> If you are using Wireless links , try using the "Track" button
* [[ NetAnim 3.106 ]]
>>> If you are using Wired links, try disabling the "Track" button


* The program hangs or crashes
* [[ NetAnim 3.105 ]] was released with ns-3.20
>>> Double-check if the "Special-rules" section has been followed


* I get *.so not found. Try using -rpath
* [[ NetAnim 3.104 ]] was released with ns-3.19
>>> ensure that you have set LD_LIBRARY_PATH correctly

Latest revision as of 13:10, 5 October 2023

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NetAnim is an offline animator based on the Qt toolkit. It animates a previously executed simulation using an XML trace file generated during a simulation. The first version was developed by George F Riley. The current version was largely developed by John Abraham. NetAnim has not been actively maintained/improved since 2017.

The NetAnim GUI

NetAnim Versions

  • NetAnim 3.109 is compatible with ns-3.38 through the current version.
    • 3.109 is a minor release that removes Qt4 support and fixes some compiler warnings
  • NetAnim 3.108 was first bundled with ns-3.27 and is compatible through ns-3.37 (and even ns-3.38)