ns-3 vs NVIDIA DSX Air
ns-3
nsnam.orgNVIDIA DSX Air
nvidia.comSide by side
| Figure | ns-3 | NVIDIA DSX Air |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | — |
| Free plan | Yes | — |
| Free trial | — | Yes |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | — | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | — |
| macOS | Yes | — |
| Linux | Yes | — |
| API | — | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 1 | 1 |
| Spec score · Network Simulation Software | 7.5 (#20) | 7.9 (#12) |
| Documentation | Project documentation includes tutorials, an installation guide, model library documentation, a reference manual, and Doxygen API documentation. | NVIDIA provides a DSX Air user guide, API reference, and SDK documentation. |
| Intended users | The project targets networking research and education, and says most users write simulation scripts and may modify or extend its libraries. | The datasheet identifies engineers, architects, and DevOps teams as users who can model deployments, simulate operations, and test automation or security policies. |
| Purpose | ns-3 is a discrete-event network simulator targeted primarily for research and educational use. | NVIDIA DSX Air is a cloud-hosted data center simulation platform for creating digital twins of IT infrastructure. |
Plans
In their own words
ns-3
ns-3 is a free, discrete-event network simulator for research and education. It supports simulations of IP and non-IP networks, including wireless work involving Wi-Fi and LTE, and provides a workflow from configuring a simulation through collecting and analyzing traces. A real-time scheduler supports simulation-in-the-loop use, including sending and receiving ns-3 packets on real network devices. Its Direct Code Execution framework can run C or C++ applications or the Linux kernel networking stack within ns-3.
The project is available for Linux, macOS, Windows, and self-hosted use, with desktop deployment listed. It is free software under GNU GPLv2, priced at free. Releases arrive roughly two or three times each year, mainly as compressed source archives. Documentation includes tutorials, installation guidance, model library material, a reference manual, and Doxygen API documentation. NetAnim and Bake are listed as related tools. Support channels include mailing lists, Zulip chat, and the issue tracker; the project says volunteers maintain it without company backing.
NVIDIA DSX Air
NVIDIA DSX Air has no write-up on Specifiction yet; its figures are above.