diff --git a/waku/README.md b/waku/README.md
index 523f8f55ec..49f29ecf83 100644
--- a/waku/README.md
+++ b/waku/README.md
@@ -54,16 +54,13 @@ Example of a quick simulation using this approach:
 # Build wakunode + quicksim
 make NIMFLAGS="-d:insecure" wakusim
 
-# Start the simulation nodes
-./waku/start_network.sh
-# Or when multitail is installed
-USE_MULTITAIL="yes" ./waku/start_network.sh
-
-# In another shell
+# Start the simulation nodes, this currently requires multitail to be installed
+./build/start_network --topology:FullMesh --amount:6 --test-node-peers:2
+# In another shell run
 ./build/quicksim
 ```
 
-The `start_network.sh` script will also provide a `prometheus.yml` with targets
+The `start_network` tool will also provide a `prometheus.yml` with targets
 set to all simulation nodes that are started. This way you can easily start
 prometheus with this config, e.g.:
 
@@ -74,4 +71,4 @@ prometheus
 
 A Grafana dashboard containing the example dashboard for each simulation node
 is also generated and can be imported in case you have Grafana running.
-This dashboard can be found at `./waku/metrics/waku-sim-all-nodes-grafana-dashboard.json`
\ No newline at end of file
+This dashboard can be found at `./waku/metrics/waku-sim-all-nodes-grafana-dashboard.json`
diff --git a/waku/process_dashboard.nim b/waku/process_dashboard.nim
deleted file mode 100644
index cf741c4341..0000000000
--- a/waku/process_dashboard.nim
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,55 +0,0 @@
-# copy from https://github.com/status-im/nim-beacon-chain/blob/master/tests/simulation/process_dashboard.nim
-import json, parseopt, strutils
-
-# usage: process_dashboard --nodes=2 --in=node0_dashboard.json --out=all_nodes_dashboard.json
-var
-  p = initOptParser()
-  nodes: int
-  inputFileName, outputFilename: string
-
-while true:
-  p.next()
-  case p.kind:
-    of cmdEnd:
-      break
-    of cmdShortOption, cmdLongOption:
-      if p.key == "nodes":
-        nodes = p.val.parseInt()
-      elif p.key == "in":
-        inputFileName = p.val
-      elif p.key == "out":
-        outputFileName = p.val
-      else:
-        echo "unsupported argument: ", p.key
-    of cmdArgument:
-      echo "unsupported argument: ", p.key
-
-var
-  inputData = parseFile(inputFileName)
-  panels = inputData["panels"].copy()
-  numPanels = len(panels)
-  gridHeight = 0
-  outputData = inputData
-
-for panel in panels:
-  if panel["gridPos"]["x"].getInt() == 0:
-    gridHeight += panel["gridPos"]["h"].getInt()
-
-outputData["panels"] = %* []
-for nodeNum in 0 .. (nodes - 1):
-  var
-    nodePanels = panels.copy()
-    panelIndex = 0
-  for panel in nodePanels.mitems:
-    panel["title"] = %* replace(panel["title"].getStr(), "#0", "#" & $nodeNum)
-    panel["id"] = %* (panelIndex + (nodeNum * numPanels))
-    panel["gridPos"]["y"] = %* (panel["gridPos"]["y"].getInt() + (nodeNum * gridHeight))
-    var targets = panel["targets"]
-    for target in targets.mitems:
-      target["expr"] = %* replace(target["expr"].getStr(), "{node=\"0\"}", "{node=\"" & $nodeNum & "\"}")
-    outputData["panels"].add(panel)
-    panelIndex.inc()
-
-outputData["uid"] = %* (outputData["uid"].getStr() & "a")
-outputData["title"] = %* (outputData["title"].getStr() & " (all nodes)")
-writeFile(outputFilename, pretty(outputData))
diff --git a/waku/start_network.nim b/waku/start_network.nim
index 9446a3bfd9..36977c85ad 100644
--- a/waku/start_network.nim
+++ b/waku/start_network.nim
@@ -1,10 +1,11 @@
 import
-  strformat, osproc, net, confutils, strformat, chronicles,
+  strformat, os, osproc, net, confutils, strformat, chronicles, json, strutils,
   eth/keys, eth/p2p/enode
 
 const
   defaults ="--log-level:DEBUG --log-metrics --metrics-server --rpc"
-  wakuNodeBin = "./build/wakunode"
+  wakuNodeBin = "build" / "wakunode"
+  metricsDir = "waku" / "metrics"
   portOffset = 2
 
 type
@@ -38,6 +39,7 @@ type
     cmd: string
     master: bool
     enode: string
+    shift: int
     label: string
 
 proc initNodeCmd(nodeType: NodeType, shift: int, staticNodes: seq[string] = @[],
@@ -66,6 +68,7 @@ proc initNodeCmd(nodeType: NodeType, shift: int, staticNodes: seq[string] = @[],
 
   result.master = master
   result.enode = $enode
+  result.shift = shift
   result.label = label
 
   debug "Node command created.", cmd=result.cmd
@@ -95,37 +98,97 @@ proc discoveryNetwork(amount: int): seq[NodeInfo] =
     result.add(initNodeCmd(FullNode, portOffset + i, label = "full node",
       discovery = true, bootNodes = @[bootNode.enode]))
 
-let conf = WakuNetworkConf.load()
-
-var nodes: seq[NodeInfo]
-case conf.topology:
-  of Star:
-    nodes = starNetwork(conf.amount)
-  of FullMesh:
-    nodes = fullMeshNetwork(conf.amount)
-  of DiscoveryBased:
-    nodes = discoveryNetwork(conf.amount)
-
-var staticnodes: seq[string]
-for i in 0..<conf.testNodePeers:
-  staticnodes.add(nodes[i].enode)
-# Waku light node
-nodes.add(initNodeCmd(WakuNode, 0, staticnodes, label = "light Waku node"))
-# Regular light node
-nodes.add(initNodeCmd(LightNode, 1, staticnodes, label = "light node"))
-
-var commandStr = "multitail -s 2 -M 0 -x \"Waku Simulation\""
-var count = 0
-var sleepDuration = 0
-for node in nodes:
-  if conf.topology in {Star, DiscoveryBased}:
-    sleepDuration = if node.master: 0
-                    else: 1
-  commandStr &= &" -cT ansi -t 'node #{count} {node.label}' -l 'sleep {sleepDuration}; {node.cmd}; echo [node execution completed]; while true; do sleep 100; done'"
-  if conf.topology == FullMesh:
-    sleepDuration += 1
-  count += 1
-
-let errorCode = execCmd(commandStr)
-if errorCode != 0:
-  error "launch command failed", command=commandStr
+proc generatePrometheusConfig(nodes: seq[NodeInfo], outputFile: string) =
+  var config = """
+  global:
+    scrape_interval: 1s
+
+  scrape_configs:
+    - job_name: "wakusim"
+      static_configs:"""
+  var count = 0
+  for node in nodes:
+    let port = 8008 + node.shift
+    config &= &"""
+
+      - targets: ['127.0.0.1:{port}']
+        labels:
+          node: '{count}'"""
+    count += 1
+
+  writeFile(outputFile, config)
+
+proc proccessGrafanaDashboard(nodes: int, inputFile: string,
+    outputFile: string) =
+  # from https://github.com/status-im/nim-beacon-chain/blob/master/tests/simulation/process_dashboard.nim
+  var
+    inputData = parseFile(inputFile)
+    panels = inputData["panels"].copy()
+    numPanels = len(panels)
+    gridHeight = 0
+    outputData = inputData
+
+  for panel in panels:
+    if panel["gridPos"]["x"].getInt() == 0:
+      gridHeight += panel["gridPos"]["h"].getInt()
+
+  outputData["panels"] = %* []
+  for nodeNum in 0 .. (nodes - 1):
+    var
+      nodePanels = panels.copy()
+      panelIndex = 0
+    for panel in nodePanels.mitems:
+      panel["title"] = %* replace(panel["title"].getStr(), "#0", "#" & $nodeNum)
+      panel["id"] = %* (panelIndex + (nodeNum * numPanels))
+      panel["gridPos"]["y"] = %* (panel["gridPos"]["y"].getInt() + (nodeNum * gridHeight))
+      var targets = panel["targets"]
+      for target in targets.mitems:
+        target["expr"] = %* replace(target["expr"].getStr(), "{node=\"0\"}", "{node=\"" & $nodeNum & "\"}")
+      outputData["panels"].add(panel)
+      panelIndex.inc()
+
+  outputData["uid"] = %* (outputData["uid"].getStr() & "a")
+  outputData["title"] = %* (outputData["title"].getStr() & " (all nodes)")
+  writeFile(outputFile, pretty(outputData))
+
+when isMainModule:
+  let conf = WakuNetworkConf.load()
+
+  var nodes: seq[NodeInfo]
+  case conf.topology:
+    of Star:
+      nodes = starNetwork(conf.amount)
+    of FullMesh:
+      nodes = fullMeshNetwork(conf.amount)
+    of DiscoveryBased:
+      nodes = discoveryNetwork(conf.amount)
+
+  var staticnodes: seq[string]
+  for i in 0..<conf.testNodePeers:
+    # TODO: could also select nodes randomly
+    staticnodes.add(nodes[i].enode)
+  # Waku light node
+  nodes.add(initNodeCmd(WakuNode, 0, staticnodes, label = "light Waku node"))
+  # Regular light node
+  nodes.add(initNodeCmd(LightNode, 1, staticnodes, label = "light node"))
+
+  var commandStr = "multitail -s 2 -M 0 -x \"Waku Simulation\""
+  var count = 0
+  var sleepDuration = 0
+  for node in nodes:
+    if conf.topology in {Star, DiscoveryBased}:
+      sleepDuration = if node.master: 0
+                      else: 1
+    commandStr &= &" -cT ansi -t 'node #{count} {node.label}' -l 'sleep {sleepDuration}; {node.cmd}; echo [node execution completed]; while true; do sleep 100; done'"
+    if conf.topology == FullMesh:
+      sleepDuration += 1
+    count += 1
+
+  generatePrometheusConfig(nodes, metricsDir / "prometheus" / "prometheus.yml")
+  proccessGrafanaDashboard(nodes.len,
+    "waku" / "examples" / "waku-grafana-dashboard.json",
+    metricsDir / "waku-sim-all-nodes-grafana-dashboard.json")
+
+  let errorCode = execCmd(commandStr)
+  if errorCode != 0:
+    error "launch command failed", command=commandStr
diff --git a/waku/start_network.sh b/waku/start_network.sh
deleted file mode 100755
index 403980f2cd..0000000000
--- a/waku/start_network.sh
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,99 +0,0 @@
-#!/bin/bash
-
-set -e
-
-# TODO: improve this bin location
-WAKU_NODE_BIN="./build/wakunode"
-NODE_PK="5dc5381cae54ba3174dc0d46040fe11614d0cc94d41185922585198b4fcef9d3"
-NODE_ENODE="enode://e5fd642a0f630bbb1e4cd7df629d7b8b019457a9a74f983c0484a045cebb176def86a54185b50bbba6bbf97779173695e92835d63109c23471e6da382f922fdb@0.0.0.0:30305"
-DEFAULTS="--log-level:DEBUG --discovery:off --log-metrics --metrics-server"
-LIGHT_NODE="--light-node:1"
-WAKU_LIGHT_NODE="--waku-mode:WakuChan ${LIGHT_NODE}"
-METRICS_DIR="./waku/metrics"
-
-# multitail support
-MULTITAIL="${MULTITAIL:-multitail}" # to allow overriding the program name
-USE_MULTITAIL="${USE_MULTITAIL:-no}" # make it an opt-in
-type "$MULTITAIL" &>/dev/null || USE_MULTITAIL="no"
-
-# TODO: This is based on the nim-beacon-chain eth2_network_simulation but quite
-# the much worse version due to the custom nodes we need. Need to rework this
-# to be less hardcoded, but might use a Nim application for this, hence the
-# quick and dirty way for now.
-
-mkdir -p "${METRICS_DIR}"/prometheus/
-cat > "${METRICS_DIR}/prometheus/prometheus.yml" <<EOF
-global:
-  scrape_interval: 1s
-
-scrape_configs:
-  - job_name: "wakusim"
-    static_configs:
-    - targets: ['127.0.0.1:8008']
-      labels:
-        node: '0'
-    - targets: ['127.0.0.1:8009']
-      labels:
-        node: '1'
-    - targets: ['127.0.0.1:8010']
-      labels:
-        node: '2'
-    - targets: ['127.0.0.1:8011']
-      labels:
-        node: '3'
-    - targets: ['127.0.0.1:8012']
-      labels:
-        node: '4'
-EOF
-
-# use the exported Grafana dashboard for a single node to create one for all nodes
-"./build/process_dashboard" \
-  --nodes=5 \
-  --in="waku/examples/waku-grafana-dashboard.json" \
-  --out="${METRICS_DIR}/waku-sim-all-nodes-grafana-dashboard.json"
-
-if [[ "$USE_MULTITAIL" != "no" ]]; then
-  SLEEP=0
-  # Direct connect with staticnodes, simple star topology for now
-  # Master node to connect to
-  CMD="$WAKU_NODE_BIN $DEFAULTS --rpc --nodekey:${NODE_PK} --ports-shift:2 --waku-mode:WakuSan"
-  COMMANDS+=( " -cT ansi -t 'master node' -l 'sleep $SLEEP; $CMD; echo [node execution completed]; while true; do sleep 100; done'" )
-
-  SLEEP=1
-  # Node under test 1: light waku node (topics)
-  CMD="$WAKU_NODE_BIN $DEFAULTS --rpc --staticnodes:${NODE_ENODE} --ports-shift:0 ${WAKU_LIGHT_NODE}"
-  COMMANDS+=( " -cT ansi -t 'light waku node' -l 'sleep $SLEEP; $CMD; echo [node execution completed]; while true; do sleep 100; done'" )
-  # Node under test 2: light node (bloomfilter)
-  CMD="$WAKU_NODE_BIN $DEFAULTS --rpc --staticnodes:${NODE_ENODE} --ports-shift:1 ${LIGHT_NODE}"
-  COMMANDS+=( " -cT ansi -t 'light node' -l 'sleep $SLEEP; $CMD; echo [node execution completed]; while true; do sleep 100; done'" )
-  # Node under test 3: full node
-  CMD="$WAKU_NODE_BIN $DEFAULTS --rpc --staticnodes:${NODE_ENODE} --ports-shift:3"
-  COMMANDS+=( " -cT ansi -t 'full node' -l 'sleep $SLEEP; $CMD; echo [node execution completed]; while true; do sleep 100; done'" )
-  # Traffic generation node(s)
-  CMD="$WAKU_NODE_BIN $DEFAULTS --rpc --staticnodes:${NODE_ENODE} --ports-shift:4"
-  COMMANDS+=( " -cT ansi -t 'traffic full node' -l 'sleep $SLEEP; $CMD; echo [node execution completed]; while true; do sleep 100; done'" )
-else
-  # Direct connect with staticnodes, simple star topology for now
-  # Master node to connect to
-  CMD="$WAKU_NODE_BIN $DEFAULTS --rpc --nodekey:${NODE_PK} --waku-mode:WakuSan"
-  eval ${CMD} &
-  sleep 1
-  # Node under test 1: light waku node (topics)
-  CMD="$WAKU_NODE_BIN $DEFAULTS --rpc --staticnodes:${NODE_ENODE} --ports-shift:1 ${WAKU_LIGHT_NODE}"
-  eval ${CMD} &
-  # Node under test 2: light node (bloomfilter)
-  CMD="$WAKU_NODE_BIN $DEFAULTS --rpc --staticnodes:${NODE_ENODE} --ports-shift:2 ${LIGHT_NODE}"
-  eval ${CMD} &
-  # Node under test 3: full node
-  CMD="$WAKU_NODE_BIN $DEFAULTS --rpc --staticnodes:${NODE_ENODE} --ports-shift:3"
-  eval ${CMD} &
-  # Traffic generation node(s)
-  CMD="$WAKU_NODE_BIN $DEFAULTS --rpc --staticnodes:${NODE_ENODE} --ports-shift:4"
-  eval ${CMD} &
-fi
-
-if [[ "$USE_MULTITAIL" != "no" ]]; then
-  eval $MULTITAIL -s 2 -M 0 -x \"Waku Simulation\" "${COMMANDS[@]}"
-else
-  wait # Stop when all nodes have gone down
-fi