Re: [Discuss-gnuradio] Combining gr-IEEE802.11 with NS2/NS3 For Simulations

[Bastian Bloessl]

Hi,


> On 2 Mar 2017, at 16:27, Garver, Paul W <address@hidden> wrote:
> 
> Hey all,
> 
> I’m looking at doing some IEEE 802.11g simulations for my research and I’d 
> like to solicit your opinion as to the best approach. Essentially, I think I 
> have a method of improving localization accuracy combining TDoA with some 
> information from the MAC Layer. I’d like to simulate my idea in more fidelity 
> than MATLAB. By this, I mean creating nodes which actually implement at least 
> the PHY and MAC OSI Layers of the stack. gr-IEEE802.11 [1] has some nice 
> support for the PHY layer, but critical MAC layer features such as CSMA/CA 
> are not implemented. I also want to simulate particular frame exchange 
> sequences such as RTS/CTS. NS2/NS3 [2] appears to have support for many of 
> the higher layer functions (e.g. MAC), but it’s unclear to me how much you 
> can play around and access the PHY Layer. I’m not very familiar with NS/NS3 
> in general. I need very precise (sub-sample level) information on packet 
> arrival times, etc. 
> 
> I’m wondering if I could combine the accessibility of the PHY layer in 
> GNURadio with the MAC-Layer implementations in NS2/NS3. Basically, the idea 
> is to let GR be the “modem” for NS2/NS3, and then try and combine the NS2/NS3 
> results with some output from the GR simulations (e.g. time of arrival of 
> particular packets) to get what I want.
> 
> Has anyone tried this? I appreciate your advice regarding the easiest path 
> here...

sounds like your looking for something like PhySimWiFi [1]. There is a good 
invited paper about it and Jens Mittags dissertation.

However, in general, I would avoid to setup large scale ns-3 simulations that 
model the phy on signal level. That get’s complicated and computationally 
complex. Maybe it is possible to make phy simulations, derive a simulation 
model from the results, and use the model in ns-3.

Best,
Bastian


[1] https://dsn.tm.kit.edu/english/ns3-physim.php