Simulation and experimentation of underwater networks entail many challenges, which for the former are mainly related to the accurate modeling of the channel behavior, while they are typically logistic in nature for the latter. In this article, we present our experience with WOSS and DESERT Underwater, two open source suites address both classes of challenges. The suites build on and extend the capabilities of ns2 and NS-MIRACLE, two widely known software packages for network simulation. WOSS endows NS-MIRACLE with the capability to generate realistic channel patterns by automatically retrieving and processing the environmental boundary conditions that influence such patterns; DESERT Underwater makes it possible to evolve toward at-sea experiments by reusing the same code written for simulations, thereby minimizing the effort required for network deployment and control. Both suites have been widely tested and used in several projects: some examples are provided in this respect, including an account of some experiments carried out in collaboration with the NATO STO Centre for Maritime Research and Experimentation
In this paper, we discuss the performance of different network protocols for RACUN, a European Defence Agency project with the objective of demonstrating ad hoc underwater networks for multiple purposes related to security. The RACUN network is designed for long-range communications over areas of large size, hence a very important role is played by the network protocols employed. We show that the channel realizations observed in typical scenarios and the physical layer schemes available in the project lead to significant bit error rates. Therefore, the protocols that offer some inherent form of redundancy, as in the case of flooding-based protocols, tend to yield better performance than protocols based on the exchange of signaling traffic. In support of this statement, we simulate two scenarios for the RACUN network over channel realizations that are statistically derived from real channel measurements. Our results provide insight on the advantages and drawbacks of the different packet forwarding strategies, and confirm that flooding-based approaches perform better. In addition, we prove how splitting packets into multiple fragments to match the modem's maximum service data unit significantly limits the performance
We present an open source framework that makes it possible to remotely monitor and control a heterogeneous network of underwater acoustic nodes. The framework exploits acoustic communications to deliver control messages, and thus avoids the need to deploy cabled or wireless connections to control each node. The framework has been developed with the goal to provide a ready-to-use, lightweight, robust and reliable tool for real field trials. The framework is very cheap in terms of hardware resources and is easily portable on several embedded systems because it is not necessary to recompile it. Furthermore, RECORDS embeds features developed to manage in real time network experiments by using the DESERT Underwater framework, based on the well-known ns2/NS-MIRACLE network simulator. RECORDS has been validated successfully in several laboratory experiments and sea trials involving different embedded systems arranged into several network topologies, including one major sea trial conducted in collaboration with the NATO STO CMRE
In this paper, we consider underwater network prototyping using the network simulation engine NS-Miracle, and investigate different embedded computer boards that can be employed for this task. In particular, we consider two embedded platforms with considerably different capabilities: the PandaBoard (a powerful platform that does not require any cross-compilation effort) and version 5.2 of the NetDCU board, which is much more constrained in terms of computational power, RAM and storage space. After describing the steps required to install NS-Miracle and the DESERT Underwater libraries on board these platforms, we report on the field experiments conducted to test the corresponding prototypes.Our results include a comparison between the two investigated platforms in terms of resources required (e.g., memory occupancy and energy expenditure) and performance in the execution of real-time software (e.g., delays introduced within the simulation framework). We believe that our work represents an interesting step towards the realization of underwater network prototypes made of heterogeneous nodes.
In the context of a collaboration with the NATO STO Centre for Maritime Research and Experimentation (CMRE), during the CommsNet'13 campaign we deployed a large set of experiments aimed at measuring some network statistics for three protocols for remote data retrieval in underwater networks, namely Uw-Polling (a controlled access scheme), MSUN (a source routing approach with support for mobility) and U-Fetch (a scheme based on two hierarchical levels of controlled access). The main idea behind the trial was to perform some experiments in order to get a hands-on practical experience with the protocols, evaluate their performance in a systematic way, and observe which specific features of a real world experiment can alter the performance of the protocols, compared to a computer simulation. The results obtained help understand the protocols better and can be used to refine their design and improve their performance. The experiments are run thanks to the flexibility of the DESERT Underwater framework, and managed through a newly designed acoustic remote control framework called RECORDS
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