🛰️ Network Router Simulator

A web-based interactive network simulator that visualizes how packets move through a network of routers.
Built with Flask (backend) and React + ForceGraph2D (frontend).

👉 Live Demo: router-simulator-omega.vercel.app

🚀 Features

• Dynamic, randomly generated network graph (20 routers)
• Real-time packet routing visualization
• Animated packet movement along shortest paths
• Shortest path computation using Dijkstra’s algorithm
• Adjustable source and destination nodes via dropdowns
• Edge weights displayed directly on links
• Responsive graph layout with zoom controls
• Flask REST API for network topology and routing data

🧩 Tech Stack

Layer	Technology
Frontend	React, ForceGraph2D, JavaScript, CSS
Backend	Python, Flask, Flask-CORS
Deployment	Render (API), Vercel (Frontend)

Backend (Flask)

cd backend
python -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate      # or venv\Scripts\activate on Windows
pip install -r requirements.txt
python app.py

Backend runs on http://127.0.0.1:5000

Frontend (React)

cd frontend
npm install
npm start

Frontend runs on http://localhost:3000

🩺 API Endpoints

Endpoint	Method	Description
/api/topology	GET	Returns all routers and links in JSON
/api/route	POST	Returns optimal path for given source/destination using Dijkstra's algorithm

Example request:

POST /api/route

{
  "src": "R1",
  "dest": "R12",
  "payload": "Hello"
}

Example response:

{
  "path": ["R1", "R5", "R9", "R12"],
  "delivered": true
}

🧭 Future Improvements

• Dynamic topology editing (add/remove routers live)
• Real-time congestion simulation
• Dijkstra and Bellman-Ford algorithm comparison mode