Flexible multi-node simulation of cellular mobile communications: the Vienna 5G System Level Simulator

Abstract

The investigation and prediction of new trends and technologies for mobile cellular networks is of utmost importance for researchers and network providers to quickly identify promising developments. With the verge of the fifth generation of mobile communications (5G), networks become more and more heterogeneous and dynamic while the amount of active users within a cell keeps ever increasing. Therefore, the search for more efficient network layouts and configurations attracts massive attention while on the other hand becomes more and more complex. In this contribution, we present the Vienna 5G system level simulator, which allows to perform numerical performance evaluation of large-scale multi-tier networks, with numerous types of network nodes. The simulator is based on MATLAB and is implemented in a modular fashion, to conveniently investigate arbitrary network and parameter constellations, which can be enhanced effortlessly. We first discuss the distinguishing aspects of our simulator platform, describe its structure, and then showcase its functionality by demonstrating the key aspects in more detail.

Simu5G–An OMNeT++ Library for End-to-End Performance Evaluation of 5G Networks

“…A well-known physical-level simulator is the Vienna 5G SL simulator [4]. It is a MATLAB-based simulator that allows one to evaluate average PHY-layer performance by means of Monte Carlo simulations.…”

“…A common criticisms of end-to-end network simulators (see, e.g., [4]) is that they are not scalable, because they model the entire protocol stack of every node, instead of, e.g., abstracting everything that lies above the MAC as a traffic generator. Hereafter, we provide evidence of the mechanisms that were employed to make Simu5G scalable.…”

A Comprehensive Study on Simulation Techniques for 5G Networks: State of the Art Results, Analysis, and Future Challenges

“…The work in [38] presents a 3-D statistical channel impulse response (IR) model for urban LOS and non-LOS channels developed from 28-and 73-GHz ultrawideband propagation measurements in New York City. In [39], the characteristics of a spatial channel model for several mmWave bands (28,38,60, and 73 GHz), with the help of NYUSIM, are simulated.…”

“…In the same context, in [59], a verification of the Vienna 5G LL and SL simulators is provided. The Vienna 5G SL Simulator [60] considers wireless networks on a large scale, offering the possibility to simulate scenarios that include hundreds of nodes. In order to keep the computational complexity at a low level, link abstraction is performed; hence, link quality models (LQMs) and the link performance model (LPM) are employed.…”

A Joint Modulation-Coding Scheme and Resource Allocation in LTE Uplink

“…The LA used in this work is based in [19] and implemented in the LTE-A Uplink Link Level Simulator [20] downloadable at [21]. This simulator was implemented by the Institute of Telecommunications TU Wien to facilitate reproducibility in wireless communications academic research [22]. Using this approach, there have been several research works [23]- [26] that obtained their results from the Vienna simulator.…”