Simulation of radio networks

Abstract

Radio communication such as licensed mobile phone systems are widely used, and have been over the past five years. This thesis focuses on simulation of radio networks. The aim is to develop a simulation and modelling tool that will allow a wide range of radio systems to be studied at system level, including where the radio element is connected to and interacting with point to point networks. The aim of the work is that the simulation should be as close as possible to real systems. Chapter 1 first introduces the applications, advantages and disadvantages of radio, following a discussion of the differences between radio networks and point to point networks. Chapter 2 briefly introduces the OSI model and the modified model used in this thesis. Radio transceiver chips play the role of the physical layer of radio devices and chapter 3 introduces three popular radio chips. Chapter 4 shows the necessity to simulate radio networks, and introduces C++ as a language for implementing simulators. The design of the simulation tool is also outlined. A local sensor system is simulated in chapter 5. Chapter 6 simulates a WLAN (Wireless Local Area Network) that adopts 802.11b standard. Chapter 7 gives the conclusion and future work in this area.