Experience with a wireless network testbed based on signal propagation emulation

The evaluation of wireless research is challenging because signals traveling through the ether are affected by the physical environment, including movement by people and objects. As a result, testbed experiments are hard to control and are non-repeatable. We have developed a wireless networking testbed based on digital signal propagation emulation that provides control over the signal propagation environment. The testbed has been in regular use for research and education since early 2007. In this paper we present measurements illustrating the properties of the emulator testbed. We also compare the results of various experiments on the emulator with simulation results to shed some light on when the increased accuracy of the emulator testbed is important. Finally, we use the experience gained on the emulator to identify classes of experiments for which the emulator is well suited, compared with other evaluation platforms.

[1]  Kevin R. Fall,et al.  Network emulation in the VINT/NS simulator , 1999, Proceedings IEEE International Symposium on Computers and Communications (Cat. No.PR00250).

[2]  Peter Steenkiste,et al.  Design and Implementation of an RF Front End for Physical Layer Wireless Network Emulation , 2007, 2007 IEEE 65th Vehicular Technology Conference - VTC2007-Spring.

[3]  Manpreet Singh,et al.  Overview of the ORBIT radio grid testbed for evaluation of next-generation wireless network protocols , 2005, IEEE Wireless Communications and Networking Conference, 2005.

[4]  Mineo Takai,et al.  Effects of wireless physical layer modeling in mobile ad hoc networks , 2001, MobiHoc '01.

[5]  Randy H. Katz,et al.  A TRACE-BASEDAPPROACH FOR MODELINGWIRELESS CHANNEL BEHAVIOR , 1996 .

[6]  Tsuhan Chen,et al.  A time-based adaptive retry strategy for video streaming in 802.11 WLANs , 2007, Wirel. Commun. Mob. Comput..

[7]  Tsuhan Chen,et al.  Using commodity hardware platform to develop and evaluate CSMA protocols , 2008, WiNTECH '08.

[8]  Pradipta De,et al.  MiNT: a miniaturized network testbed for mobile wireless research , 2005, Proceedings IEEE 24th Annual Joint Conference of the IEEE Computer and Communications Societies..

[9]  J.I. Smith,et al.  A computer generated multipath fading simulation for mobile radio , 1975, IEEE Transactions on Vehicular Technology.

[10]  Georgios Parissidis.  Interference-Aware Routing in Wireless Multihop Networks , 2008 .

[11]  Daniel D. Stancil,et al.  Efficient simulation of Ricean fading within a packet simulator , 2000, Vehicular Technology Conference Fall 2000. IEEE VTS Fall VTC2000. 52nd Vehicular Technology Conference (Cat. No.00CH37152).

[12]  Jay Lepreau,et al.  Lowering the barrier to wireless and mobile experimentation , 2003, CCRV.

[13]  Peter Steenkiste,et al.  A trace-based evaluation of adaptive error correction for a wireless local area network , 1999, Mob. Networks Appl..

[14]  Peter Steenkiste,et al.  Characterizing 802.11 wireless link behavior , 2010, Wirel. Networks.

[15]  Abdelsalam Helal,et al.  RAMON: rapid-mobility network emulator , 2002, 27th Annual IEEE Conference on Local Computer Networks, 2002. Proceedings. LCN 2002..

[16]  Chip Elliott,et al.  GENI - global environment for network innovations , 2008, LCN.

[17]  Srinivasan Seshan,et al.  RFDump: an architecture for monitoring the wireless ether , 2009, CoNEXT '09.

[18]  Robert Morris,et al.  Link-level measurements from an 802.11b mesh network , 2004, SIGCOMM 2004.

[19]  Peter Steenkiste,et al.  A software architecture for physical layer wireless network emulation , 2006, WINTECH.

[20]  Tsuhan Chen,et al.  Design, implementation and evaluation of an efficient opportunistic retransmission protocol , 2009, MobiCom '09.

[21]  Peter Steenkiste,et al.  Using emulation to understand and improve wireless networks and applications , 2005, NSDI.

[22]  James T. Kaba,et al.  Testbed on a desktop: strategies and techniques to support multi-hop MANET routing protocol development , 2001, MobiHoc.

[23]  Xiaohui Wang,et al.  Using physical layer emulation to optimize and evaluate mobile and wireless systems , 2008, Mobiquitous 2008.

[24]  Jean-Yves Le Boudec,et al.  Perfect simulation and stationarity of a class of mobility models , 2005, Proceedings IEEE 24th Annual Joint Conference of the IEEE Computer and Communications Societies..

[25]  Pradipta De,et al.  MiNT-m: an autonomous mobile wireless experimentation platform , 2006, MobiSys '06.

[26]  Dave Maltz,et al.  Emulation of Multi-Hop Wireless Ad Hoc Networks , 2000 .

[27]  B. Eged,et al.  Emulation of ad-hoc networks on IEEE 802.11 , 2000, 13th International Conference on Microwaves, Radar and Wireless Communications. MIKON - 2000. Conference Proceedings (IEEE Cat. No.00EX428).

[28]  Bernhard Plattner,et al.  Interference in wireless multihop networks: A model and its experimental evaluation , 2008, 2008 International Symposium on a World of Wireless, Mobile and Multimedia Networks.

[29]  Peter Steenkiste,et al.  Repeatable and realistic wireless experimentation through physical emulation , 2004, Comput. Commun. Rev..

[30]  André Schiper,et al.  On the accuracy of MANET simulators , 2002, POMC '02.

[31]  Cyril Leung,et al.  A simple digital fading simulator for mobile radio , 1990 .

[32]  G. A. Arredondo,et al.  A multipath fading simulator for mobile radio , 1973 .

[33]  Randy H. Katz,et al.  Trace-based mobile network emulation , 1997, SIGCOMM '97.

[34]  Ilenia Tinnirello,et al.  On the side-effects of proprietary solutions for fading and interference mitigation in IEEE 802.11b/g outdoor links , 2009, Comput. Networks.

[35]  Jason Liu,et al.  Experimental evaluation of wireless simulation assumptions , 2004, MSWiM '04.

[36]  Peter Steenkiste,et al.  FPGA-Based Channel Simulator for a Wireless Network Emulator , 2009, VTC Spring 2009 - IEEE 69th Vehicular Technology Conference.

[37]  Paramvir Bahl,et al.  A case for adapting channel width in wireless networks , 2008, SIGCOMM '08.

[38]  Peter Steenkiste,et al.  Efficient channel-aware rate adaptation in dynamic environments , 2008, MobiSys '08.