Huginn: a 3D visualizer for wireless ns-2 traces

Discrete-event network simulation is a major tool for the research and development of mobile ad-hoc networks (MANETs). These simulations are used for debugging, teaching, understanding, and performance-evaluating MANET protocols. For the first three tasks, visualization of the processes occurring in the simulated network is crucial for verification and credibility of the generated results. Working with the popular network simulator ns-2, we have not yet found a visualization toolkit capable of reading native ns-2 trace files and providing means to change the evaluated parameters without changing the visualization software. Thus, we developed Huginn, a software providing an intuitive way to visualize simulation properties and to determine how they should be displayed without the need of programming. In addition, Huginn has a 3D interface allowing an improved exploitation of the (human) user's perceptual system. It helps to handle the significant cognitive load associated with the mental reconstruction of simulated network processes. Besides presenting the software interface and architecture, we describe algorithmic solutions that might be of a more general interest for similar problems.