On the Accuracy of Mininet: Comparing Network Emulation and Physical Testbeds for Distributed Systems

The increasing complexity of modern distributed systems, spanning cloud computing, edge devices, and ultra-low latency applications, needs accurate and scalable network emulation. This comparative study analyzes the fidelity of one of the most popular network emulators (Mininet) against a physical testbed to quantify performance deviations with a focus on scalability. Using iPerf for benchmarking, we measure bandwidth allocation dynamics under incremental client loads (1 - 20 nodes). Results show that Mininet accurately emulates throughput distribution across different nodes with errors below 9%. We further discuss Mininet's limitations in replicating high-bandwidth links and propose a Python-based topology configuration tool to streamline emulation workflows. This work provides empirical insights into the fidelity and constraints of software-defined network emulation and the possibility of integration in a digital twin system.