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  • Accepted Manuscript: Virtual machine-based simulation platform for mobile ad-hoc network-based cyber infrastructure

Title: Virtual machine-based simulation platform for mobile ad-hoc network-based cyber infrastructure

In modeling and simulating complex systems such as mobile ad-hoc networks (MANETs) in de-fense communications, it is a major challenge to reconcile multiple important considerations: the rapidity of unavoidable changes to the software (network layers and applications), the difficulty of modeling the critical, implementation-dependent behavioral effects, the need to sustain larger scale scenarios, and the desire for faster simulations. Here we present our approach in success-fully reconciling them using a virtual time-synchronized virtual machine(VM)-based parallel ex-ecution framework that accurately lifts both the devices as well as the network communications to a virtual time plane while retaining full fidelity. At the core of our framework is a scheduling engine that operates at the level of a hypervisor scheduler, offering a unique ability to execute multi-core guest nodes over multi-core host nodes in an accurate, virtual time-synchronized manner. In contrast to other related approaches that suffer from either speed or accuracy issues, our framework provides MANET node-wise scalability, high fidelity of software behaviors, and time-ordering accuracy. The design and development of this framework is presented, and an ac-tual implementation based on the widely used Xen hypervisor system is described. Benchmarks with synthetic and actual applications are used to identify the benefits ofmore » our approach. The time inaccuracy of traditional emulation methods is demonstrated, in comparison with the accurate execution of our framework verified by theoretically correct results expected from analytical models of the same scenarios. In the largest high fidelity tests, we are able to perform virtual time-synchronized simulation of 64-node VM-based full-stack, actual software behaviors of MANETs containing a mix of static and mobile (unmanned airborne vehicle) nodes, hosted on a 32-core host, with full fidelity of unmodified ad-hoc routing protocols, unmodified application executables, and user-controllable physical layer effects including inter-device wireless signal strength, reachability, and connectivity.« less
Authors:
 [1] ;  [1] ;  [2]
+ Show Author Affiliations
  1. Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
  2. U.S. Army Research Lab., Adelphi, MD (United States)
Publication Date:
Grant/Contract Number:
AC05-00OR22725
Type:
Accepted Manuscript
Journal Name:
Journal of Defense Modeling and Simulation
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 12; Journal Issue: 4; Journal ID: ISSN 1548-5129
Publisher:
Society for Modeling and Simulation International
Research Org:
Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
Sponsoring Org:
USDOE
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING
OSTI Identifier:
1254082