Physical Channel Access (PCA): Time and Frequency Access Methods Simulation in NS-2

Nicolas Kuhn (1, 2) , Olivier Mehani (3) , Huyen-Chi Bui (1) , Jérôme Lacan (1) , José Radzik (1) , Emmanuel Lochin (1)

1 ISAE-SUPAERO - Institut Supérieur de l'Aéronautique et de l'Espace
2 NICTA - Networks Research Group
3 NICTA - National ICT Australia [Sydney]

We present an NS-2 module, Physical Channel Access (PCA), to simulate different access methods on a link shared with Multi-Frequency Time Division Multiple Access (MF-TDMA). This technique is widely used in various network technologies, such as satellite communication. In this context, different access methods at the gateway induce different queuing delays and available capacities, which strongly impact transport layer performance. Depending on QoS requirements, design of new congestion and ow control mechanisms and/or access methods requires evaluation through simulations. PCA module emulates the delays that packets will experience using the shared link, based on descriptive parameters of lower layers characteristics. Though PCA has been developed with DVB-RCS2 considerations in mind (for which we present a use case), other MF-TDMA-based applications can easily be simulated by adapting input parameters. Moreover, the presented implementation details highlight the main methods that might need modifications to implement more specific functionality or emulate other similar access methods (e.g., OFDMA).

Mots clés: simulation; physical channel access; time and frequency access methods

Domaines: Réseaux et télécommunications [cs.NI]

Nicolas Kuhn, Olivier Mehani, Huyen-Chi Bui, Jérôme Lacan, José Radzik, et al.. Physical Channel Access (PCA): Time and Frequency Access Methods Simulation in NS-2. 5th International Conference on Personal Satellite Services - PSATS 2013, Jun 2013, Toulouse, France. pp.174-185, ⟨10.1007/978-3-319-02762-3_16⟩. ⟨hal-02552569⟩