Installing NetSimulyzer for Visualising IoD

IoD_Sim

IoD_Sim is an open source and system-level simulator for the IoD (Internet of Drones). It is developed on top of the well-known ns-3 (Network Simulator 3), it implements the key networking elements (drones, network access points, and Zone Service Provider), a standard-compliant communication stack based on the IEEE 802.11 technology, and scenarios with various mobility models[1][2].

As mentioned in [2], IoD_Sim is primarily compatible with Linux-based operating systems. One can test it on macOS, altough the original authors are not focused on providing first-class support for it. For macOS, Windows, or any other operating system, they encouraged to use Docker, WSL or any other (pseudo)virtualisation platform that can provide a stable Linux-based work environment.

In this article, we will see the way of installing 3D visualisation support on ns-3 for the purpose of visualising IoD_Sim FANET simulations in 3D using the NetSimulyzer add-on module.

Installation Steps

Step 1: Install ns-3 and IoD_Sim

The Following article Explained the way of Installing ns-3 and IoD_Sim:

Installing Internet of Drones Simulator (IoD_Sim) in Debian

Step 2: Cloning the NetSimulyzer add-on module from the GitHub repository

Now we can clone the NetSimulyzer add-on module from its repository[4] under the ‘contrib’ folder or ‘src’ folder of ns-3.

$ git clone https://github.com/usnistgov/NetSimulyzer-ns3-module

The flowing screenshot shows the completion of the cloning of NetSimulyzer add-on module repository.

Step 3: Configure ns-3

We should configure ns-3 as follows:

The flowing screenshot shows the modules configured for compile.

Step 4: Building ns-3 with IoD_Sim and NetSimulyzer

After successful configuration, now we can build the ns-3 – so that the newly compiled ns-3 will have IoD_Sim functionalities in it.

$ ./ns3 build

If you carefully notice the console outputs, you can understand that the netsimulyzer and IoD_Sim components are getting compiled along with ns-3 components.

The flowing screenshot shows the end of successful build operation.

Step 5: Testing the Working of IoD_Sim with NetSimylyzer 3D Network Visualisation features

Now we can modify and run the iodsim simulator with the example scenario that is described in a JSON format configuration file.

$ cd ns3/
$ ./ns3 run “iodsim –config=../scenario/simple_wifi.json”

The following terminal output shows the successful run of the simulation (with a deprecation warning message).

Step 6: Visualising with NetAnim

For creating NetAnim 2D animation for visualising a IoD_Sim Network Simulation, one should do the necessary modifications.

After the necessary additions, you will see the 2D animatoin of the simulated scenario under the name ‘IoD_Sim_Network_Animation.xml’.

The following gif video shows the 2D animation of the above IoD_Sim scenario.

Step 6: Visualising with NetSimulyzer

In addition to the NetSimulyzer add-on extension, we should install the NetSimulyzer 3D visualisation tool as explained in the following article:

Installing NetSimulyzer 3D Visualization Tool under Debian 11

For creating NetSimulyzer 3D animation for visualising a IoD_Sim Network Simulation, one should do the necessary modifications in the simulation script.

The following gif animation shows the 3D output of the simulation under NetSimulyzer:

Conclusion

Unlike other FANET/UAV related ns-3 extensions, IoD_Sim is a simulator written in on ns-3. By supplying a JSON format configuration file, we can run a FANET/UAV simulation with more accuracy. It is possible to visualise the IoD_Sim simulations in 3D with the use of NetSimulyzer.