IPTV Network Simulation using GNS3 and VLC

Overview

This project implements an experimental IPTV service in a virtualized environment using GNS3 for network emulation and VLC Media Player for video streaming.
The goal is to simulate a real-world IPTV infrastructure that integrates dynamic routing, multicast distribution, NAT, DHCP, ACLs, and QoS policies to ensure efficient video delivery and service reliability.

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Network Topology

The simulated network consists of three routers (R1, R2, R3) interconnected using the OSPF dynamic routing protocol, and a “cloud” segment that represents the Internet/ISP connection.

• R1 – Home network router with DHCP and NAT for local clients (Ubuntu client).
• R2 – IPTV Server network router hosting the Windows IPTV server.
• R3 – Local client network router with DHCP and NAT for another client (Windows).
• Cloud (192.168.6.0/24) – Simulated ISP providing external connectivity.

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Core Technologies

Technology	Purpose	Configuration Highlights
OSPF	Dynamic routing between routers	Enabled on R1, R2, R3
PIM/IGMP	Multicast video distribution	PIM Sparse-Dense mode on all routers
NAT	Internet access for private networks	Overload (PAT) on R1, R2, and R3
DHCP	Automatic IP configuration for clients	Implemented on R1 and R3
ACLs	Traffic filtering and server protection	Restrictive ACL on R2 (SECURE_IPTV)
QoS	Prioritization of video traffic	DSCP AF41 marking on RTP/HTTP ports
DNS	Name resolution	Google DNS 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4

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IPTV Streaming Configuration

The IPTV server (Windows 10, IP 192.168.0.1) was configured with VLC Media Player to stream video via:

• RTP Multicast → 239.255.255.100:5004
• HTTP Unicast → http://192.168.0.1:8080/

VLC Command (Windows Client)

"C:\Program Files\VideoLAN\VLC\vlc.exe" rtp://@239.255.255.100:5004

VLC Command (Ubuntu Client)

vlc http://192.168.0.1:8080/

VLC Command (Server)

"C:\Program Files\VideoLAN\VLC\vlc.exe" "video.mp4"--sout "#duplicate{dst=rtp{dst=239.255.255.100,port=5004,ttl=10},dst=http{mux=ts,dst=:8080/}}" --loop