A Trace-based ns-3 Simulation Approach for Perpetuating Real-World Experiments

A common problem in mobile networking research and development is the cost related to deploying and running real-world mobile testbeds. Due to cost and operational constraints, these testbeds usually run for short time periods but generate very unique and relevant results that are hard to reproduce. We propose the use of ns-3 as a solution to successfully reproduce real-world mobile testbed experiments. This is accomplished by feeding ns-3 with real testbed traces including node positions and radio link quality only. In order to validate our approach, the network throughput between a fixed Base Station and a Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) was measured in a real-world testbed. The experimental results were compared to the network throughput achieved using the ns-3 trace-based simulation and a plain ns-3 simulation. The obtained results show the high accuracy of the trace-based simulation, thus validating our approach.