IEEE 802.11 based vehicular communication simulation design for NS-2

DSRC is a promising IEEE 802.11 based wireless technology that enables advanced active vehicle safety, among other applications. NS-2 is a common and familiar communication simulation tool for researchers. The current NS-2 distribution package, however, is not completely ready to accommodate the requirements of IEEE 802.11 (i.e. DSRC) based vehicular communication research. In this paper, we present an overview on the pre-existing wireless simulation architecture design in the NS-2 distribution code. We then describe our improvements to the IEEE 802.11 PHY and MAC modules in NS-2. The resulting simulator is a more accurate simulation tool for DSRC in particular and IEEE 802.11 based wireless communication research in general.