This repository provides a small docker compose.yml file to easily run NS2 TCL simulations using the ekiourk/ns2:latest docker image.

1. You have Docker Desktop installed.
2. You have a running X Window Server (such as XQuartz) running on your host, and it is configured to accept connections from localhost.

1. Clone this repository to your local system.

2. Move into this directory.

3. Place your .tcl programs inside the programs folder. This folder will be bind-mounted into the docker container for ns2 as the /ns2/programs folder.

4. Run docker compose run --rm ns2

   The --rm is important. Without it, docker will create a new container each time you run the command and ultimately take up way too much hard-drive space.

   You will be dropped into a root bash shell where the current working directory is /ns2/programs. You should be able to see all the programs that you placed in the programs folder on the host machine here.

   In the root shell you were dropped into you can run the ns, nam and xgraph commands (and essentially any command provided by the ns-allinone-2.35 software).

   Run a command that invokes a GUI application (like xgraph on a .xgr file or nam on a .nam file) and you should see the appropriate window pop up on your desktop.

   

5. Once you're done with NS2 (say, at the end of your semester) you can delete any container created for NS2 (if you ever left out the --rm in the docker compose run command) and the ekiourk/ns2 Docker Image through the Docker Desktop dashboard.

Is welcome. Issues and bug reports, as well as pull requests are highly encouraged.