To simulate the IEEE 802.11 Wi-Fi networks using ns3 can support to investigate numerous features of Wi-Fi performance, like throughput, delay, packet loss, or how distinct versions of Wi-Fi standards (e.g., 802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax) perform in various environments. NS3 offers a complete Wi-Fi module which helps several aspects of IEEE 802.11. Below we present simple procedure on how to simulate Wi-Fi projects using ns3:
Steps to Simulate Wi-Fi Projects Using ns3
- Install ns3:
- Make sure that ns3 is installed on the compute. If not installed it then we download the source code from the ns3 official website and we follow the installation guidelines.
- Create Wi-Fi Nodes:
- Describe the Wi-Fi stations (STAs, i.e., clients) and access points (APs) as nodes in the network. We can be replicated both infrastructure (AP + stations) and ad-hoc (peer-to-peer) networks.
NodeContainer wifiStaNodes;
wifiStaNodes.Create(3); // 3 Wi-Fi clients (stations)
NodeContainer wifiApNode;
wifiApNode.Create(1); // 1 Wi-Fi access point
- Set Up the Wi-Fi Channel:
- Describe the physical layer (PHY) for the Wi-Fi channel. We can be used YansWifiPhyHelper for a realistic wireless channel model that contains aspects like signal propagation loss and interference.
YansWifiChannelHelper wifiChannel = YansWifiChannelHelper::Default();
YansWifiPhyHelper wifiPhy = YansWifiPhyHelper::Default();
wifiPhy.SetChannel(wifiChannel.Create());
- Configure Wi-Fi Standard:
- We can use the WifiHelper to set the Wi-Fi standard (e.g., 802.11a/b/g/n/ac). Also we can set up MAC attributes like SSID, access mode (infrastructure or ad-hoc), and data rates.
WifiHelper wifi;
wifi.SetStandard(WIFI_PHY_STANDARD_80211ac); // Set to 802.11ac standard
WifiMacHelper wifiMac;
Ssid ssid = Ssid(“ns3-80211ac-network”);
wifiMac.SetType(“ns3::StaWifiMac”, “Ssid”, SsidValue(ssid), “ActiveProbing”, BooleanValue(false));
NetDeviceContainer staDevices;
staDevices = wifi.Install(wifiPhy, wifiMac, wifiStaNodes);
wifiMac.SetType(“ns3::ApWifiMac”, “Ssid”, SsidValue(ssid));
NetDeviceContainer apDevice;
apDevice = wifi.Install(wifiPhy, wifiMac, wifiApNode);
- Set Up Mobility Model:
- Allocate mobility to the Wi-Fi stations and access points. We can be used models like ConstantPositionMobilityModel for static nodes or RandomWaypointMobilityModel for mobile stations.
Example of static mobility for access point and random mobility for stations:
MobilityHelper mobility;
mobility.SetPositionAllocator(“ns3::GridPositionAllocator”,
“MinX”, DoubleValue(0.0),
“MinY”, DoubleValue(0.0),
“DeltaX”, DoubleValue(5.0),
“DeltaY”, DoubleValue(10.0),
“GridWidth”, UintegerValue(3),
“LayoutType”, StringValue(“RowFirst”));
mobility.SetMobilityModel(“ns3::ConstantPositionMobilityModel”);
mobility.Install(wifiApNode); // Access Point is static
mobility.SetMobilityModel(“ns3::RandomWaypointMobilityModel”,
“Speed”, StringValue(“ns3::ConstantRandomVariable[Constant=1.0]”),
“Pause”, StringValue(“ns3::ConstantRandomVariable[Constant=0.0]”));
mobility.Install(wifiStaNodes); // Stations move randomly
- Install Internet Stack:
- We install the Internet stack on all nodes to allow IP communication.
InternetStackHelper stack;
stack.Install(wifiApNode);
stack.Install(wifiStaNodes);
- Assign IP Addresses:
- Allocate an IP addresses to the Wi-Fi interfaces of both the access point and stations.
Ipv4AddressHelper ipv4;
ipv4.SetBase(“10.1.1.0”, “255.255.255.0”);
Ipv4InterfaceContainer apInterface = ipv4.Assign(apDevice);
Ipv4InterfaceContainer staInterfaces = ipv4.Assign(staDevices);
- Simulate Traffic:
- We can be replicated various kinds of network traffic (e.g., HTTP, video streaming, file transfers) using OnOffApplication, UdpEchoApplication, or BulkSendApplication. In this instance, we can use UDP Echo to mimic communication among a Wi-Fi station and the access point.
Example of UDP Echo server at the access point and client at one of the stations:
UdpEchoServerHelper echoServer(9); // Access Point runs server on port 9
ApplicationContainer serverApp = echoServer.Install(wifiApNode.Get(0));
serverApp.Start(Seconds(1.0));
serverApp.Stop(Seconds(10.0));
UdpEchoClientHelper echoClient(apInterface.GetAddress(0), 9); // Client sends data to server
echoClient.SetAttribute(“MaxPackets”, UintegerValue(100));
echoClient.SetAttribute(“Interval”, TimeValue(Seconds(1.0)));
echoClient.SetAttribute(“PacketSize”, UintegerValue(1024));
ApplicationContainer clientApp = echoClient.Install(wifiStaNodes.Get(0)); // 1st station as client
clientApp.Start(Seconds(2.0));
clientApp.Stop(Seconds(10.0));
- Monitor Network Performance:
- We can use FlowMonitor or NetAnim to observe and examine the performance of the Wi-Fi network. We can be collected the statistics on throughput, packet loss, delay, and jitter.
Example of setting up FlowMonitor to capture traffic stats:
FlowMonitorHelper flowmon;
Ptr<FlowMonitor> monitor = flowmon.InstallAll();
Simulator::Run();
monitor->SerializeToXmlFile(“wifi-flow-results.xml”, true, true);
- Run and Analyze the Simulation:
- After configuring the network and traffic, we run the simulation and then examine the gathered data.
Simulator::Stop(Seconds(10.0));
Simulator::Run();
Simulator::Destroy();
Example of a Simple Wi-Fi Network Simulation
Here’s a comprehensive instance which replicates a simple Wi-Fi network with one access point and three stations:
#include “ns3/core-module.h”
#include “ns3/network-module.h”
#include “ns3/internet-module.h”
#include “ns3/wifi-module.h”
#include “ns3/mobility-module.h”
#include “ns3/applications-module.h”
#include “ns3/flow-monitor-module.h”
using namespace ns3;
int main(int argc, char *argv[])
{
// Create Wi-Fi stations and access point
NodeContainer wifiStaNodes;
wifiStaNodes.Create(3); // 3 Wi-Fi clients (stations)
NodeContainer wifiApNode;
wifiApNode.Create(1); // 1 Wi-Fi access point
// Set up Wi-Fi channel and PHY layer
YansWifiChannelHelper wifiChannel = YansWifiChannelHelper::Default();
YansWifiPhyHelper wifiPhy = YansWifiPhyHelper::Default();
wifiPhy.SetChannel(wifiChannel.Create());
// Set up Wi-Fi standard (e.g., 802.11ac) and MAC layer
WifiHelper wifi;
wifi.SetStandard(WIFI_PHY_STANDARD_80211ac);
WifiMacHelper wifiMac;
Ssid ssid = Ssid(“ns3-80211ac-network”);
wifiMac.SetType(“ns3::StaWifiMac”, “Ssid”, SsidValue(ssid), “ActiveProbing”, BooleanValue(false));
NetDeviceContainer staDevices;
staDevices = wifi.Install(wifiPhy, wifiMac, wifiStaNodes);
wifiMac.SetType(“ns3::ApWifiMac”, “Ssid”, SsidValue(ssid));
NetDeviceContainer apDevice;
apDevice = wifi.Install(wifiPhy, wifiMac, wifiApNode);
// Set up mobility for access point and stations
MobilityHelper mobility;
mobility.SetPositionAllocator(“ns3::GridPositionAllocator”,
“MinX”, DoubleValue(0.0),
“MinY”, DoubleValue(0.0),
“DeltaX”, DoubleValue(5.0),
“DeltaY”, DoubleValue(10.0),
“GridWidth”, UintegerValue(3),
“LayoutType”, StringValue(“RowFirst”));
mobility.SetMobilityModel(“ns3::ConstantPositionMobilityModel”);
mobility.Install(wifiApNode); // Access Point is static
mobility.SetMobilityModel(“ns3::RandomWaypointMobilityModel”,
“Speed”, StringValue(“ns3::ConstantRandomVariable[Constant=1.0]”),
“Pause”, StringValue(“ns3::ConstantRandomVariable[Constant=0.0]”));
mobility.Install(wifiStaNodes); // Stations move randomly
// Install Internet stack
InternetStackHelper stack;
stack.Install(wifiApNode);
stack.Install(wifiStaNodes);
// Assign IP addresses
Ipv4AddressHelper ipv4;
ipv4.SetBase(“10.1.1.0”, “255.255.255.0”);
Ipv4InterfaceContainer apInterface = ipv4.Assign(apDevice);
Ipv4InterfaceContainer staInterfaces = ipv4.Assign(staDevices);
// UDP Echo server and client applications
UdpEchoServerHelper echoServer(9); // Server on access point
ApplicationContainer serverApp = echoServer.Install(wifiApNode.Get(0));
serverApp.Start(Seconds(1.0));
serverApp.Stop(Seconds(10.0));
UdpEchoClientHelper echoClient(apInterface.GetAddress(0), 9); // Client on station
echoClient.SetAttribute(“MaxPackets”, UintegerValue(100));
echoClient.SetAttribute(“Interval”, TimeValue(Seconds(1.0)));
echoClient.SetAttribute(“PacketSize”, UintegerValue(1024));
ApplicationContainer clientApp = echoClient.Install(wifiStaNodes.Get(0));
clientApp.Start(Seconds(2.0));
clientApp.Stop(Seconds(10.0));
// Set up Flow Monitor to track network performance
FlowMonitorHelper flowmon;
Ptr<FlowMonitor> monitor = flowmon.InstallAll();
// Run the simulation
Simulator::Stop(Seconds(10.0));
Simulator::Run();
// Output flow monitor results to XML file
monitor->SerializeToXmlFile(“wifi-flow-results.xml”, true, true);
Simulator::Destroy();
return 0;
}
Advanced Wi-Fi Simulation Topics:
- Different Wi-Fi Standards:
- Replicate various Wi-Fi standards like 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11n, 802.11ac, and 802.11ax, and then compare their performance such as throughput, delay, and energy efficiency.
- Quality of Service (QoS):
- Execute QoS features for various kinds of traffic, like prioritizing voice or video traffic across background data traffic using the WifiMacQueue or EDCA (Enhanced Distributed Channel Access).
- Channel Models:
- Discover various channel models such as Nakagami, Rayleigh, or Log-Distance to replicate distinct environments (e.g., urban, indoor, outdoor).
- Interference and Collision Simulation:
- Mimic the influence of interference and collisions among several access points and clients in densely populated networks.
- Roaming and Handover:
- Replicate Wi-Fi handovers and roaming among access points as mobile stations move over various coverage areas.
- Energy Efficiency:
- Mimic an energy-efficient Wi-Fi operation modes, like Power-Save Mode (PSM), to minimize the energy consumption of mobile devices.
In this manual, we demonstrated each steps, necessary sample snippets and advanced wifi simulation subjects are helps you to easily know how IEEE 802.11 WiFi perform and simulate in NS3 tool. Furthermore, we will be provided in depth details regarding this projects in another scripts.
To facilitate the simulation of IEEE 802.11 WiFi projects utilizing NS3, phdprime.com is equipped with a comprehensive array of tools and resources tailored to meet your requirements. We invite you to share the specifics of your project, and we will ensure timely delivery along with superior quality support. Our expertise encompasses various iterations of Wi-Fi standards (such as 802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax) and their performance across diverse environments, providing you with the necessary assistance for your endeavors.
