PacketSinkHelper

PacketSinkHelper is a helper class within the ns-3 network simulator that simplifies the creation and installation of PacketSink applications on nodes. The sink applications are used to receive incoming data on a specified port and protocol, serving as data collection points in simulations. By abstracting the construction of the underlying PacketSink and its socket, the helper enables researchers to quickly set up sinks for TCP or UDP traffic without manual socket programming.

The helper is designed to work with both IPv4 and IPv6 addresses and supports different transport protocols by accepting a socket factory name, such as ns3::TcpSocketFactory or ns3::UdpSocketFactory, along with a listening endpoint defined by an address and port. When installed on a node or group of nodes, the resulting applications listen for payloads sent to the configured port and protocol. The PacketSink itself does not generate traffic; it simply consumes received packets and records statistics, such as the total number of bytes received.

Typical usage involves constructing a PacketSinkHelper with the desired protocol and destination address, installing the sink on one or more nodes, and then starting and stopping the applications at the simulation times of interest. The sink maintains statistics that can be queried from the application (e.g., total bytes received) or exposed via trace sources for throughput and performance analysis.

See also: PacketSink, Application, SocketFactory, and the broader set of Helper utilities in ns-3. The PacketSinkHelper is commonly used in conjunction with traffic generators and trace-based measurement to assess network performance.