MASSIVE: An Emulation Environment for Mobile Ad-Hoc Networks

Developing and evaluating protocols and applications for mobile ad-hoc networks requires significant organisational effort when real mobile ad-hoc networks with several mobile terminals are considered. For fine tuning and optimizing ad-hoc protocols, network simulators like the OpNet Modeller, NS2, or GloMoSim are most suitable. However, for the comprehension of the mode of operations of adhoc network mechanisms and their effects on the communication flow of applications a real-time experiment environment is more preferable. In this paper, an emulation environment for mobile ad-hoc networks is presented, which operates within existing local area networks utilizing virtual overlay structures reflecting the characteristics of mobile ad-hoc networks. Routing protocols and applications are able to communicate in real-time over emulated mobile infrastuctures using the unmodified IP protocol stack. The emulator provides an extensible interface for specifying mobility patterns in order to define and to evaluate diverse mobile scenarios. Several ad-hoc specific mobility patterns have been integrated and evaluated.