cnet runs on a variety of Linux and UNIX platforms, and on Apple's Mac OS-X 10.4 (Tiger), onwards.
cnet does not run on Windows.

The most up-to-date public version of this documentation remains at www.csse.uwa.edu.au/cnet3/. The previous, but now unsupported, major release of cnet is available from www.csse.uwa.edu.au/cnet/.

Further information available from here:

• Getting started:
  • an introduction to cnet (with several screenshots).
  • the simulation model.
  • topology files.
  • global, node, and link attributes.
  • the event driven programming style.
  • a walk through some introductory protocols.

• Greater detail:
  • the core Application Programming Interface
  • the support Application Programming Interface
  • command line options.
  • datatypes defined in <cnet.h>.
  • attribute datatypes and their units.
  • local area networks (LANs).
  • wireless networks (WLANs) and mobile nodes.
  • compilation strings and extension modules.
  • runtime environment variables.
  • tracing execution.
  • drawing datalink frames.

• Frequently Asked Questions.

• Downloading and installing cnet.
• Changelog.

Using cnet in education

If you decide to use cnet in the teaching of an undergraduate course, or need some more info on how to, please let me know. I'd like to keep a record of sites using cnet and the types of examples and projects being attempted. I'll also be able to keep you informed of updates.

cnet has been selected by William Stallings to complement the material in his text Data and Computer Communications, 7th ed., published May 2004 by Prentice-Hall (© Copyright 2004, 864 pp., ISBN 0-13.1.1681-9). The 6th edition of this text was voted the winner of the 2000 award for long-term excellence in a Computer Science textbook, awarded by the Text and Academic Authors Association, Inc.

Please appreciate that there are thousands of students worldwide using cnet. I am unable to respond to individual questions about cnet, unless they are from students enrolled in a course that I'm presenting. In particular, I will not answer homework or assignment questions. Please ask your professor or instructor.

Acknowledgments

Dr Greg Baur (University of Western Kentucky), Prof. Bruce Elenbogen (University Michigan-Dearborn), Mark Davies (University of Wellington, New Zealand), Dr Rowan Davies (UWA), Amer Filipovic (UWA), Prof. John Hine (University of Wellington, New Zealand), Dr Chris Johnson (The Australian National University), Dr David Laverell (Calvin College, Michigan), A/Prof. Phil MacKenzie (Boise State University, Idaho), Prof. Jeff Ondich (Carleton College, Minnesota), Asad Pirzada (UWA), Dr Chris Pudney (UWA), Dr Mike Robins (UWA), Dr Michael Rogers (Tennessee Technological University), Dean Scarff (UWA), Prof. James Wilkinson (College of Charleston, South Carolina), and my over 2100 undergraduate students at The University of Western Australia and Dartmouth College who have always been able to find the last bug.

Thanks to Jordan Hubbard <jkh@freebsd.org> and Michael Haro <mharo@area51.fremont.ca.us> for making the FreeBSD port available.

Thanks to Mark Davies, Victoria University of Wellington, NZ <mark@mcs.vuw.ac.nz> for contributing his patches for NetBSD.

John O. Moen, from graphicmaps.com, has graciously permitted some images of countries (maps) to be distributed with cnet.

Rob Fitzgerald, from Terabeam Wireless, has graciously permitted an image explaining the principle components in wireless transmission to be distributed with cnet.