High Frequency Radio Network Simulation Using OMNeT++

TL;DR

This paper presents a high-fidelity simulation framework for HF radio networks using OMNeT++, incorporating detailed channel and protocol models to evaluate TCP performance and optimize throughput.

Contribution

It develops an integrated simulation environment for HF radio communications, including channel, physical layer, and data link models, to study network performance and optimization strategies.

Findings

Simulation accurately reproduces HF channel error statistics.

Optimized STANAG 5066 configurations improve TCP throughput.

TCP Performance Enhancing Proxy strategies enhance data transfer efficiency.

Abstract

Harris Corporation has an interest in making HF radios a suitable medium for wireless information networks using standard Internet protocols. Although HF radio links have many unique characteristics, HF wireless subnets can be subject to many of the same traffic flow characteristics and topologies as existing line-of-sight (LOS) radio networks, giving rise to similar issues (media access, connectivity, routing) which lend themselves to investigation through simulation. Accordingly, we have undertaken to develop efficient, high-fidelity simulations of various aspects of HF radio communications and networking using the OMNeT++ framework. Essential aspects of these simulations include HF channel models simulating relevant channel attributes such as Signal to Noise Ratio, multipath, and Doppler spread; a calibrated physical layer model reproducing the error statistics (including burst error distributions) of the MIL-STD-188-110B/C HF modem waveforms, both narrowband (3 kHz) and wideband (up to 24 kHz) on the simulated HF channels; a model of the NATO STANAG 5066 data link protocol; and integration of these models with the OMNeT++ network simulation framework and its INET library of Internet protocol models. This simulation is used to evaluate the impacts of different STANAG 5066 configuration settings on TCP network performance, and to evaluate strategies for optimizing throughput over HF links using TCP Performance Enhancing Proxy (PEP) techniques.