Course contents: Simulation as a means of communication networks analysis and design. Simulation for the purposes of: performance analysis, stability analysis, availability analysis, design and planning, etc. Overview of basic simulation techniques (discrete events, rare events, etc.). Simulation time scale of a communication network (packet arrival scale, connections arrival scale, etc.). Communication network modelling for simulation: node models, line models, source models, random variable generation. Simulation languages and environments. Practice on simple programming for discrete events simulation. The SIMSCRIPT III simulation environment for networks. Performance analysis of network simulation through SIMSCRIPT III. Comparison to other methods of performance analysis: methods based on analytical models, methods based on measurements.

Assessment: Written exams at the end of the semester.