No. 8 of 29 ·Network Simulation Software

EMANE

Linux · Self-hosted

Freedom report

Two barsScore 6.4

Free tierA free tier is on its own pricing page
Open codeNo open-source code on record
Runs widely1 of 6 device platforms
DocumentedPlans, terms and facts published

EMANE is ranked #8 of 29 in network simulation software on Freedom251. It runs on Linux, Self-hosted. There is a free plan.

EMANE plans and pricing

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EMANE Free Open-source distributed wireless network emulation framework emane.io · 3 Oct 2026

Compared on network simulation software

Free plan: Yes
Simulation model: emulation
Real-time emulation: Yes
Deployment options: server
Automation API: Yes

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The record

Purpose: EMANE is an open-source distributed emulation framework for designing, developing, and testing simple and complex network architectures.
Emulation: Its physical-layer model accounts for signal propagation, antenna profile effects, and interference sources.
Linux application: EMANE runs as a Linux user-space application and uses radio-model plugins with a physical-layer model to emulate a waveform's lowest layer.
Radio models: The open-source distribution includes RF Pipe, IEEE 802.11abg, TDMA, and Bent Pipe radio models, plus the Comm Effect utility model.
Network boundaries: The distribution includes Raw Transport and Virtual Transport boundaries, and supports IP and non-IP wireless-system emulation.
Scenario events: Its physical layer uses antenna profile, location, pathloss, and fading-selection events, and users can create custom event-generating applications with the Python emane.events module.
SDR integration: EMANE radio-model plugins can be combined with existing software-defined-radio components for shared-code experimentation.
Configuration: The emulator processes XML configuration files for platform, NEM, radio model, boundary, and radio error-rate or packet-completion curves.
Scaling guidance: The guide advises using one NEM per emulator instance for performance reasons.
Intended users: The guide is for people using EMANE in wireless-communication-systems research and development and assumes familiarity with basic wireless concepts and the Linux command line.
Programming: C++, Python, and Google Protocol Buffers experience can help with developing radio models or tools, but the guide says they are not prerequisites for using EMANE.
License: The guide says accompanying source code is released under the BSD 3-clause license; the guide itself is under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 unless otherwise noted.
Help and support: Adjacent Link's GitHub organization provides project Issues and Pull Requests for reporting application-specific bugs or questions.
Maker: Adjacent Link describes itself as a privately owned engineering company focused on developing and testing mission-critical mobile wireless systems.
Price from: Free

Where it ranks on Freedom251

Best Network Simulation Software in 2026#8 of 29

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Sources

emane.io/introduction· checked 3 Oct 2026
emane.io/applications· checked 3 Oct 2026
emane.io· checked 3 Oct 2026
emane.io/license· checked 3 Oct 2026
adjacentlink.com· checked 3 Oct 2026