Network Simulation Technology and Its Application Based on OPNET

Network simulation technology is a scientific method to reflect and predict the performance of a network.Simulation software,provideing a method for real network to interact with a simulator,is able to simulate the network under varied conditions,and analyze the feasibility and robustness of the design.This paper introduces the optimal characteristics,modeling mechanism and simulation method of OPNET simulation software in brief,focusing on the modeling process and methods in network,node and process domain of OPNET.At last,With an actual example of packet switching network the application of OPNET in specific network designs are illustrated by comparing the changes of link utilization,network throughput and end-to-end delay under different packet generation rate.