Difference between revisions of "NetAnim"

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NetAnim is an animator based on the multi-platform Qt 4 toolkit.
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{{TOC}}
NetAnim currently animates the simulation using an XML trace file collected during simulation.
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NetAnim is an offline animator based on the Qt toolkit.
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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]]  
  
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== NetAnim Versions ==
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* NetAnim 3.109 is compatible with ns-3.38 through the current version.
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** 3.109 is a minor release that removes Qt4 support and fixes some compiler warnings
  
== Feature-set in NetAnim 3.0 ==
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* [[ 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
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** Complete redesign using the QGraphics framework
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** Packet statistics with filter
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** Node position statistics with node trajectory plotting
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** Improved window re-sizing and zooming
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== Prerequisites ==
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# mercurial
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# QT4 development packages (recommended version 4.7)
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=== Debian/Ubuntu Linux distribution:===
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# apt-get install mercurial
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# apt-get install qt4-dev-tools
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=== Red Hat/Fedora based distribution:===
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# yum install mercurial
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# yum install qt4
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# yum install qt4-devel
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=== Mac/OSX ===
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# mercurial
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# Qt4 : Install Qt4 (including Qt Creator if possible) from http://qt.nokia.com/downloads/
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== Downloading NetAnim ==
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* NetAnim 3.0:
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hg clone http://code.nsnam.org/jabraham3/netanim
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* NetAnim 2.0:
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Go to this link [[NetAnim2]]
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* NetAnim 1.0:
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Go to this link [[NetAnim 1.0]]
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== Building NetAnim==
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NetAnim uses a QT4 build tool called qmake. Only qmake version 4.7 is supported
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Please read the [[#Prerequisites]] before proceeding
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=== In General ===
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cd netanim
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make clean
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qmake NetAnim.pro   
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make
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'''Note: qmake could be "qmake-qt4" in some systems
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'''
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This should create an executable named "NetAnim" in the same directory
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== Using ns3::AnimationInterface to generate Animation trace files==
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The NetAnim application requires a custom trace file for animation. 
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This trace file is created by [http://www.nsnam.org/doxygen/classns3_1_1_animation_interface.html AnimationInterface] in ns-3.  
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# Model is at: src/netanim/model
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# Examples are at src/netanim/examples
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NetAnim 2.0 supports only reading XML trace files.
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NetAnim 1.0 can read only Non-XML traces.
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AnimationInterface as of ns-3.12 generates only non-XML trace files by default.
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To generate XML trace files, use [http://www.nsnam.org/doxygen/classns3_1_1_animation_interface.html#ae8612e0b82dd1166add6e959d6c5e5a8 void ns3::AnimationInterface::SetXMLOutput()] prior to StartAnimation. See the examples under "src/netanim/examples"
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=== Recommended set of steps ===
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Here is the recommended set of steps for generating XML Animation traces.They must be applied before the "Simulation::Run" statement.
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'''NOTE: A node must have an associated mobility model in-order to be displayed on the animation.
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This applies for both stationary and mobile nodes (See notes below) '''
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  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
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For ns-3 version upto ns-3.12
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  1. AnimationInterface anim;
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  2. anim.SetOutputFile ("animation.xml");
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  3. anim.SetXMLOutput ();
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  4. anim.SetMobilityPollInterval (Seconds (1));
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  5. anim.StartAnimation ();
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where
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  1. Create an AnimationInterface object
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  2. Set the trace output file name
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  3. Enable XML output (Only when using NetAnim 2.0). If this statement is not used, the AnimationInterface generates traces which are non-XML and can only be
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      read by NetAnim 1.0
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  4. This statement is optional. It records the position of the nodes every 1 second. NOTE: Setting a low value may result in large XML files.
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    If your topology is expected to be stationary, it will be good to set it to a very large value (so that polling occurs rarely).
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  5. Start recording traces. StartAnimation and other AnimationInterface methods should be called before "Simulator::Run()"
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For ns-3 version after ns-3.12
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  1. AnimationInterface anim ("animation.xml")
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  2. anim.SetMobilityPollInterval (Seconds (1));[OPTIONAL]
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=== Running an Example File ===
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The netanim example files are located under "src/netanim/examples"
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  ./waf --run "dumbbell-animation --nLeftLeaf=5 --nRightLeaf=5 --animFile=dumbbell.xml"
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  ./waf --run "grid-animation --xSize=5 --ySize=5 --animFile=grid.xml"
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=== Setting the location of nodes ===
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NetAnim requires a location to be assigned to each Node, in-order to be shown on the animation.
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==== For stationary nodes: ====
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* You should assign the ConstantPositionMobilityModel. Constant Position is a kind of mobility.
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Here is an example:
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  1. Ptr<Node> n = nodecontainer.Get (1);
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  2. Ptr<ConstantPositionMobilityModel> Loc =  n->GetObject<ConstantPositionMobilityModel> ();
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  3. if (Loc == 0)
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        {
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  4.    Loc = CreateObject<ConstantPositionMobilityModel> ();
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  5.    n->AggregateObject (Loc);
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        }
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  6. Vector vec (10, 20, 0);
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  7. Loc->SetPosition (vec);
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where
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  1. Get a Ptr to Node from the node container
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  2. Get the aggregated ConstantPositionMobilityModel object from the node
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  3. If Loc ==0 , it indicates that this node is not aggregated with a mobility model.So we have to aggregate one.
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  4. Create a ConstantPositionMobilityModel object and assign it to Loc
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  5. Aggregate the mobility model "Loc" to the node
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  6. Create a position vector with 3-d co-ordinates  x= 10, y= 20, z=0
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  7. Set the position vector to the mobility model
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==== For mobile nodes ====
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* You should assign any suitable Mobility model.
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The examples for these are found in places such as src/mobility/examples or examples/routing/manet-routing-compare.cc etc
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== Understanding the XML trace file format ==
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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
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a. Slowness in simulation
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b. Large XML trace files
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Some ways to get around this is to identify if your topology has
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# only stationary nodes and hence no mobility
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# or slow-moving nodes
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If the above is the case you should use AnimationInterface::SetMobilityPollInterval to set the poll interval to a high value.
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=== Parts of the XML ===
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The XML trace files has the following main sections
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# Topology
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## Nodes
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## Links
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# packets (packets over wired-links)
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# wpackets (packets over wireless-links.LTE not supported)
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=== XML tags ===
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Nodes are identified by their unique Node id.
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The XML begins with the "information" element describing the rest of the elements
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==== <anim> element ====
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This is the XML root element. All other elements fall within this element
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  Attributes are:
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    lp = Logical Processor Id (Used for distributed simulations only)
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====  <topology> element ====
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This elements contains the Node and Link elements.It describes, the
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co-ordinates of the canvas used for animation.
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  Attributes are:
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    minX = minimum X coordinate of the animation canvas
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    minY = minimum Y coordinate of the animation canvas
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    maxX = maximum X coordinate of the animation canvas
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    maxY = maximum Y coordinate of the animation canvas
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  Example:
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  <topology minX = "-6.42025" minY = "-6.48444" maxX = "186.187" maxY = "188.049">
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==== <node> element ====
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This element describes each Node's Id and X,Y co-ordinate (position)
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  Attributes are:
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    lp = Logical Processor Id (Used for distributed simulations only)
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    id = Node Id
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    locX = X coordinate
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    locY = Y coordinate
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  Example:
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  <node lp = "0" id = "8" locX = "107.599" locY = "96.9366" />
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==== <link> element ====
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This element describes wired links between two nodes.
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  Attributes are:
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    fromLp = From logical processor Id  (Used for distributed simulations only)
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    fromId = From Node Id (first node id)
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    toLp  = To logical processor Id
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    toId  = To Node Id (second node id)
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  Example:
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  <link fromLp="0" fromId="0" toLp="0" toId="1"/>
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====  <packet> element ====
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This element describes a packet over wired links being transmitted at some node and received at another
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The reception details is described in it associated rx element
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  Attributes are:
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    fromLp = From logical processor Id  (Used for distributed simulations only)
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    fromId = Node Id transmitting the packet
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    fbTx = First bit transmit time of the packet
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    lbTx = Last bit transmit time of the packet
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  Example:
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  <packet fromLp="0" fromId="1" fbTx="1" lbTx="1.000067199"><rx toLp="0" toId="0" fbRx="1.002" lbRx="1.002067199"/>
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  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
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  1.000067199th second of the simulation
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  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
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NOTE: A packet with fromId == toId is a dummy packet used internally by the AnimationInterface.Please ignore this packet
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===== <rx> element =====
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This element describes the reception of a packet at a node
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  Attributes are:
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    toLp = To logical processor Id
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    toId = Node Id receiving the packet
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    fbRx = First bit Reception Time of the packet
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    lbRx = Last bit Reception Time of the packet
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==== <wpacket> element ====
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This element describes a packet over wireless links being transmitted at some node and received at another
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The reception details is described in it associated rx element
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  Attributes are:
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    fromLp = From logical processor Id (Used in distributed simulations only)
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    fromId = Node Id transmitting the packet
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    fbTx = First bit transmit time of the packet
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    lbTx = Last bit transmit time of the packet
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    range = Range of the transmission
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  Example:
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  <wpacket fromLp = "0" fromId = "20" fbTx = "0.003" lbTx = "0.003254" range = "59.68176982">
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  <rx toLp="0" toId="32" fbRx="0.003000198" lbRx="0.003254198"/>
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  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,
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  the last bit was transmitted at the
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  0.003254 second of the simulation
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  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
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== Using the XML trace with NetAnim ==
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* Here is a youtube video demonstrating Animation for Wireless transmission [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ObcW85Go8M click here]
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* Here is a youtube video demonstrating Animation for Wired transmission [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DW6upNpJQns click here]
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=== Parts of the basic-mode Animator ===
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The basic-mode Animator will have the following buttons shown here [[File:GeneralVCR.png]]
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* Quit: Quits the NetAnim application
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* Concentric circles: Shows Wireless transmission as concentric circles
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* Reverse play button: Plays the animation in the reverse direction. Don't use this if "Track" button is enabled
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* Forward play button: Plays the animation in the forward direction
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* Pause button: Used to pause the animation
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* The History slider: Used to go back in simulation time [[File:History.png]]
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* Update rate slider: [[File:Updateperiod.png]]
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This slider controls the interval between updating animation. If it is low, more packets will be animated, but the simulation progress will be slow
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<font color=red>'''If it is high, some packets may get skipped, although the simulation may progress faster.
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'''</font color>
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[[File:miscbuttons.png]]
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* Record button: WIll take snapshots of the animation at periodic intervals and store them as a collection of images under the "recordings" folder
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* Zoom-in button: Zoom into the animation
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* Zoom-out button: Zoom out
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* Reset Zoom
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* Pkt ON: If suppressed will display packet transmission. Disable this button, when you are only interested in seeing the location of the nodes (or mobility)
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[[File:shownode.png]]
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* Show Node Id: If enabled shows the Node Id of each node on the canvas
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* Node Id Font size: Controls the font size of the Node Id mentioned above
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=== Using the XML trace file in NetAnim 2.0 ===
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# Open the XML file via "Options" menu --> "Load XML"
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=== Using the non-XML trace file in NetAnim 1.0 ===
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# use the command-line
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./NetAnim dumbbell-tr
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== F.A.Q ==
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* I get
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/usr/bin/ld: cannot find -lsqlite3
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/usr/bin/ld: cannot find -lpng14
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/usr/bin/ld: cannot find -lintl
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>>> Try removing the corresponding "-l" phrases from the LIBS variable in NetAnim.pro
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* I get GLib-GIO:ERROR:gdbusconnection.c:2279:initable_init: assertion failed: (connection->initialization_error == NULL)Aborted (core dumped)
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>>> Don't install or run NetAnim as a root-user
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* I get
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QImage: XPM pixels missing on image line 9 (possibly a C++ trigraph).
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QImage: XPM pixels missing on image line 10 (possibly a C++ trigraph).
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QImage: XPM pixels missing on image line 11 (possibly a C++ trigraph).
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QImage: XPM pixels missing on image line 12 (possibly a C++ trigraph).
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QImage: XPM pixels missing on image line 13 (possibly a C++ trigraph).
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QImage: XPM pixels missing on image line 14 (possibly a C++ trigraph)
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>>> These can be ignored
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* I am unable to see any packets animated
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* [[ NetAnim 3.107 ]]
  
>>> If you are using Wireless links , try using the "Track" button
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* [[ NetAnim 3.106 ]]
>>> If you are using Wired links, try disabling the "Track" button
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* The program hangs or crashes
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* [[ NetAnim 3.105 ]] was released with ns-3.20
>>> Double-check if the "Special-rules" section has been followed
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* I get *.so not found. Try using -rpath
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* [[ NetAnim 3.104 ]] was released with ns-3.19
>>> ensure that you have set LD_LIBRARY_PATH correctly
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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)