Patent ID: 8775152

Claim:
A network simulation system, comprising: one or more interconnected workstations each comprising a digital computer running an operating system; software executed on the one or more workstations, wherein the software is configured to: operate a plurality of virtual machines with each virtual machine executing a hardware simulation application configured to operate in a same manner as a corresponding actual hardware device; operate a virtual switch interconnecting two or more of the virtual machines, wherein the virtual switch and virtual machines are simulated and not connected to the corresponding actual hardware devices; interface to a software load via a driver within each of the plurality of virtual machines, wherein the software load is associated with a network element and configured to operate and control actual physical hardware of the network element, wherein the network element comprises one of a router, switch, access device, base station, optical switch, optical add/drop multiplexer, DWDM device, Ethernet switch, or Optical Transport Network (OTN) switch; and simulate hardware of the network element at a fiber level, a data plane level, a card level, and a chassis level for development and testing of real time embedded software systems without requiring the actual physical hardware to run the software load, wherein the fiber level is performed by creating fiber objects for transmit and receive fibers to interconnect two simulation ports together for messages passed therebetween having overhead and allowing simulated traffic loss via the fiber objects.