EasiEI: A Simulator to Flexibly Modeling Complex Edge Computing Environments

In edge computing scenarios, there is a need for modeling dedicated features and heterogeneous devices functions, as well as integrating multiple complex scenarios with diverse objectives and frequent interactions. However, existing platforms modeling for the whole device ignores the independence between functional components resulting in limited scenario support. We propose an open-source simulator named EasiEI. EasiEI addresses the need for higher-level feature replaceability and independence in modeling complex edge scenarios through independent functional component-level modeling and microkernel architecture. This approach enables users to assemble independent functional components in a plug-and-play manner for heterogeneous devices or different application requirements. EasiEI is fully compatible with all the existing built-in modules in NS3 (a powerful network discrete event simulator). To verify the flexibility and extensibility of EasiEI, we implement several centralized and decentralized computing paradigms cases in a step-by-step way. These cases restore and simulate the performance state of various real devices in real-time, meeting the requirements for verifying the edge computing ideas such as task scheduling in a distributed manner. Results show that the simulations have well reflected the characteristics of the real world and can construct complex environment flexibly.