Distributed Simulation Framework for Assesing Multipath Transport Protocols

Several simulation frameworks have been developed to evaluate multipath transport protocols. However, only a few enable interaction with protocols implemented on real hardware, such as FPGA platforms. This paper proposes a Distributed Simulation Framework (DSF) that features two distinct software components, which can run on separate platforms: the Hybrid User Terminal (HUT) and the Device. The HUT generates data, configures devices, and provides insights into system behavior during simulations. In contrast, the Device is designed to operate on real hardware, such as FPGA boards. To demonstrate the potential of the DSF, the HUT was run on a PC-based machine, and the Device was run on a Zynq UltraScale+ RFSoC ZCU111 Evaluation Kit. The results showed that the DSF delivers a wide range of data that can be used to evaluate multipath transport protocols effectively.