Simulation framework for wireless Internet access networks

Abstract

In many fields of engineering and science, researchers and engineers use computers to simulate natural phenomena rather than conducting experiments involving the real system. With the power of today's computers, simulation provides an easy way of predicting the performance of a prospective system or comparing several alternatives at the system design stage. In this paper, we present a simulation framework specifically designed for wireless Internet access networks. This simulation framework is designed for the three protocol layers, HTTP, TCP/IP and the link-layer protocol, and can be configured independently in each of these layers. The time-driven nature of the framework allows us to observe the diurnal changes of the system in the simulation, which in turn makes it possible to evaluate the statistical properties of the system. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2005.