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Device driver-enabled wireless network emulation
Weingärtner E., vom Lehn H., Wehrle K.  SIMUTools 2011 (Proceedings of the 4th International ICST Conference on Simulation Tools and Techniques, Barcelona, Spain, Mar 21-25, 2011)188-197.2011.Type:Proceedings
Date Reviewed: Jul 11 2012

Network emulation is an integral part of testing and analyzing the performance of network devices and software, before actual network installation. In the case of wireless networks, it is particularly important due to constantly changing characteristics of the network and the wireless channel. Though there are numerous wireless network testbeds, simulators, and emulators available, they are either too expensive or have certain limitations. The authors of this paper present a device-driver-based wireless network emulation architecture, which can be used to evaluate the performance of wireless communication software. The presented emulation framework is based on ns-3, and it allows for the performance testing and analysis of Wi-Fi software for Linux. The presented architecture employs a custom device driver, which behaves like a real-world wireless networking card. The authors claim that any protocol stack or application capable of accessing wireless network interfaces can be used for wireless network emulation, without requiring any changes in the source code.

The paper describes the measurements and analysis of a wireless network that can be carried out via simulation, and those where emulation is essential, through a careful comparison of emulation and simulation. The emulation framework is explained in detail with the help of diagrams. Important aspects, such as real-world wireless network software, network simulation, message exchange, and scalability (for simulation and emulation), are discussed in detail. Details are given on how ns-3 is used as an underlying network simulator. Accuracy in the performance of the developed emulator framework is evaluated in terms of 802.11 throughput and round-trip time, in comparison with real-world measurements. Detailed timing analysis of the developed framework also provides insight into its performance. The Wireshark network analyzer and the Kismet network scanner prove that arbitrary unmodified networking software can use the developed emulator framework. However, an analysis of ad hoc routing protocols and 802.11 localization frameworks is left for future work.

The wireless emulation framework presented in this paper is based on discrete event simulation. The authors compare the properties of the developed framework with other emulators, simulators, and testbeds, such as JiST/MobNet, MobiEmu, NEMAN, CORE, and VirtualMesh.

Apart from the detailed explanation of the design and performance of the developed emulator, this paper acquaints readers with the characteristics that an emulator for wireless networks must possess. It also imparts knowledge about the parameters used to evaluate the performance of wireless network software. This paper is a good read for those involved in the research and development of wireless network simulations and emulations. It will also enlighten readers who intend to develop their own emulators.

Reviewer:  Rinki Sharma Review #: CR140361 (1212-1237)
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Wireless Communication (C.2.1 ... )
 
 
Performance of Systems (C.4 )
 
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