Simulation model of wireless ad-hoc network to study algorithms of traffic routing

Communication network simulators are software designed to model, explore, test and debug network technologies, including wireless decentralized self-organizing networks or ad-hoc networks. They greatly simplify the research, development and optimization of routing protocols in these networks. However, the well-known simulators have a number of disadvantages, including the difficulty of adding custom extensions to ad-hoc network routing protocols, the lack of the necessary network stack, the lack of routing algorithm visualization modes, low performance, and difficulty in debugging communication protocols. The purpose of this work is to create a simulation model of a wireless network that would allow us to explore, debug and evaluate the developed algorithms and routing protocols for ad-hoc networks. At the same time, the requirements for interface ergonomics and the ability to visualize the operation of algorithms, ensure the collection of statistics, and create various scenarios for the operation of the network come to the fore. The article proposes the structure of the simulation model, which includes the modules of the network subscriber, application software, network layer of the OSI data transmission model, radio module, radio transmission environment, statistics collection, visualization and scenario management. To solve the tasks set, the approach of discrete-event modeling was used. To create a simulator of wireless decentralized networks and routing algorithms, a set of classes was developed that implement the modules of the simulation model. Based on the proposed structure, module classes and discrete event simulation algorithm, a software implementation of the simulation model was created using the C++ programming language and the Qt framework. The developed simulation model was used in the course of an experimental study of the effectiveness of the network routing algorithm. The proposed software will simplify the development and debugging of algorithms and routing protocols for ad-hoc networks.