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Wireless Network Simulation Using OPNET IT

Guru Academic Edition.
Technical Report February 2009
DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.1.4500.0080

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2 authors, including:
Mohammed Al-Rudaini
Jordan University of Science and Technology
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Retrieved on: 25 October 2016

University of Aden
Faculty of Engineering
Department of Computer
Science & Engineering

2009
Wireless Network Simulation

Using OPNET IT Guru

Academic Edition.
Name: Mohammed Abdullah Al-Rudaini.
Class: B5CS
RegNO: 7794
Supervisor: Dr- Khaled Obood.

1.

Introduction:

1.1. What is an OPNET IT Guru:

OPNET IT Guru Academic Edition provides a virtual environment
for modeling, analyzing, and predicting the performance of IT
infrastructures, including applications, servers, and networking
technologies. Based on OPNET's award-winning IT Guru product,
Academic Edition is designed to complement specific lab exercises that
teach fundamental networking concepts. The commercial version of IT
Guru has broader capabilities designed for the enterprise IT environment,
documentation, and professional support. OPNET software is used by
thousands of commercial and government organizations worldwide, and
by over 500 universities.
1.2. OPNET IT Guru wireless capabilities:
As for the OPNET Modeler designed by OPNET Technologies is
the first program in the area of telecommunications networks in general,
not only at the level of computer networks only. Program has great
potential in many areas and is the most widely used of all universities in
the world for the purposes of scientific research. As we previously stated
in the free software, free version available for purposes of scientific
research but is limited when compared with the commercial version.
Especially for wireless computer networks, the OPNET IT Guru
Academic Edition (free version), the maximum possible to work on
wireless networks is the IEEE 802.11b standard only! This version does
not support the use of networks of free WiMax. Also, there are limitations
in many of the options and possibilities in the free version when compared
with the commercial version, including the time of simulation.
The free version and it is known as OPNET IT Guru is a great
competitor to the ns-2 which is designed to work on the systems of Linux.

1.3. Purposes of the simulation of computer networks:

Two basic goals of the use of simulation programs are:
The First: scientific research, for example, the study of global IEEE
Standards for wireless computer networks and ways of development and
everything related to
The Second: for commercial purposes, as mentioned earlier, that if
we want changes to be made to our real networks, changes are expensive,
and simple mistakes that could lead to high costs, so it is possible to study
the implementation of the network even before it is implemented on the
ground.

1.4. Introduction to Network Simulation:

Network simulators attempt to model real world networks. The idea
being that if a system can be modeled, then features of the model can be
changed and the results analyzed. As the process of model modification is
relatively cheap then a wide variety of scenarios can be analyzed at low
cost relative to making changes to a real network.
Note: Network simulators are not perfect. They will not perfectly
model your network. They will, however, be close enough so as to give
you a meaningful insight into how your network is working, and how
changes will affect its operation. The following figure shows the
simulation cycle of any type of computer networks, this is known as the
four stages of The Modeling Cycle.

In the first phase, we are modeling the network, and the process here
involves the addition of computers, wiring, servers, etc. ... If we are talking
about a wireless WLAN network may choose at this stage, the type of
global standard IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11a, IEEE 802.11g and choose
the type of Modulation Method, etc.
In the second phase, we will choose the statistics. Statistics collected
on the performance of the network as mentioned earlier.
In the third phase, we the simulation set up Simulate time that we
want to emulate the network by. Simulation time means that, for example,
if the simulation program was run on the basis of one day, all the results
we get are the modeling of the network for one day on the ground, the
operation of the network on the ground for a one-day operation may be
offset by the simulation program for five minutes! Imagine the difference.
Fourth and final stage, is the view the simulation results and we will
do our part to analyze them.
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2.

Wireless Infrastructure:

2.1. Wireless network refers to any type of computer network that

is wireless, and is commonly associated with a telecommunications
network whose interconnections between nodes is implemented without
the use of wires. Wireless telecommunications networks are generally
implemented with some type of remote information transmission system
that uses electromagnetic waves, such as radio waves, for the carrier and
this implementation usually takes place at the physical level or "layer" of
the network.
2.1.1. Wireless Personal Area Network (WPAN) is a type of
wireless network that interconnects devices within a relatively small area,
generally within reach of a person. For example, Bluetooth provides a
WPAN for interconnecting a headset to a laptop. ZigBee also supports
WPAN applications.
2.1.2. Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) is a wireless
alternative to a computer Local Area Network (LAN) that uses radio
instead of wires to transmit data back and forth between computers in a
small area such as a home, office, or school. Wireless LANs are
standardized under the IEEE 802.11 series.
2.1.3. Wireless Metropolitan area networks(WMAN)are a type
of wireless network that connects several Wireless LANs. WiMAX is the
term used to refer to wireless MANs and is covered in IEEE
802.16d/802.16e.
2.2. Wireless network Scenario:
In this case study we will create we will create four scenarios of a
wireless network for an office of 20 employee starting with the simple
standard IEEE802.11that its data transfer rate operates on 1& 2 Mbps and
then we will go up till reach the standard IEEE802.11b that its data transfer
rate operates on 11Mbps.
The scenarios will be used to provide an internet connection to use
HTTP protocol to work on the main website of the company to enter the
data into it by the employees working into that office and so to search about
work data that is inside it.
Then we will compare the four scenarios to find the best one to
choose in the real work.

2.2.1. Building Scenario:

To start building our scenario infrastructure we run to OPNET IT
GURU simulation, we will start with one scenario then we will duplicate
it and re configure them to build the other scenarios.
After starting the program, we will create a new project from the
new option in the file menu as follows.
Then name the project and the first scenario as follows.
After that the initial topology must be chosen for our scenario we
will start with an empty one.
Then indicating the type of network scale, so as mentioned before,
an office scale will be chosen for our scenario.

After that we will come to indicating the size of the office using a
measure scale as meters and the units of that metric as 100 by 100 office
as it a big floor of a large company.
After that the configuration of the topologies and the tools which we
want to use in our scenario that is the Ethernet for using normal LAN tools
and Wireless LAN for using wireless tools in our scenario.
At the end a review window will appear to review our selected main
properties of our scenario.

When done a project workspace and an object palette will appear to

start build our real infrastructure of our scenario.
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We will start to but our main nodes manually in the scenario, using
the object palette we but an Application Configuration Tool that will help
us to configure the applications that will be used in the scenario, a Profile
Configuration Tool that will help us to configure our user profiles and what
application they supposed to use, an Ethernet Server that we provide
application to be used in the WLAN, and finally Wireless LAN And
Ethernet IP Router that will be used as an access point in our WLAN
scenario.
The second way to enter wanted nodes is using rabid configuration
for nudes that are similar, by using the rabid configuration option in the
topology menu, then selecting the configuration type as unconnected
network from the small window that appears

At the end of butting the nodes used in our scenario we can connect
any wired objects using a connection type, we choose a 100BaseT
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connection from the object palette to connect between the server and the
access point, and as for any node we can rename any node.

2.2.2. Configuring Scenario:

Then we start configure our nodes by right clicking the wanted node
and then choosing edit attributes.
The application configuration tool will be configured to get
the default application definition.
Then editing the profile configuration of profile configuration
tool another window will appear to edit it, selecting the rows, where
each row means a configuration entry, naming every entry and then
edit their applications, also another window appears to select
applications for that entry by selecting rows, here each row means
an application entry, so here we can select a web browsing
application that is our need in our scenario.

 Selecting all the wireless workstations to be configured all

together, editing the application supported profiles will open
another window that we will select application rows and application
types using it from the application profiles that we create using the
application profile configuration tool, changing the value of physical
characteristics attribute to the value of direct sequence, and finally
changing the data rate to 1Mbps, this is the attribute that we will
study the changes in scenario statistics by its variation

The access point router will be enabled, and will set the data
rate to 1Mbps as the same as the workstations.
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 The server will be configured to support all application

services.

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2.2.3. Selecting the statistics of the scenario:

Now we should select the statistics that we will study in comparing
scenarios by right clicking on any empty space in the workspace and
choosing the individual statistics option,from the global statistics tree we
will select the HTTP Page Response Time, TCP Delay, Wireless LANData
Dropped, Wireless LANDelay, Wireless LANLoad, Wireless LANMedia
Access Delay, and finally Wireless LANThroughput.

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2.2.4. Duplicating Scenarios:

Duplicating the first scenario will help us to make a new one, naming
it, and then changing some attribute in some nudes of the wireless network
that we want to compare their effect on statistics and results upon the
network, in our scenario we will change the data bit rate between the
wireless access point and the wireless workstations, using four different
values of data bit rate of 1Mbps as done in the first scenario, 2Mbps,
5.5Mbps, and 11Mbps that is the standard IEEE802.11b.

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2.2.5. Running Simulation:

Now we have four different scenarios that can be switch between to
run simulation on each one separately by choosing the run tool from the
tool bar, selecting the simulation time (up to 8 hours for OPNET IT Guru
Academic Edition free version).

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2.2.6. View Results:

After running simulation for all scenarios we can now view results
to compare between the scenarios by clicking on the show results tool on
the tool bar, a view results window will appear showing all the selected
statistics, selecting the overloaded statistics for all scenarios to be in the
same graph with different colors, changing the view to the average type so
the graph be in a curve way, finally we can view the graph in a separate
window with full information and legend.
The HTTP page response time: from this graph comparing our
four scenarios we understand that the response time of a HTTP page
decreases as the data rate increases.

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 TCP Delay: as we do before the average TCP Delay graph

shows that the average TCP delay decreases as the data rate
increases.

Wireless LAN Data Dropped: for all the scenarios this graph
shows that the Wireless Data dropped tends to be zero.

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 Wireless LAN delay: this graph shows that the delay of the
wireless LAN decreases as the data rate increases.

Wireless LAN Load: the average load of the network will

remain the same as the application supported and the number of the
workstations stills the same.

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 Wireless LAN Media Access Delay: this graph shows that the
media access delay will be decreased as the data rate increased.

Wireless LAN Throughput: even if this graph is not seen the

average throughput will be the same as the average load if the data
dropped tend to zero (Load Request = Throughput Success + Data
Dropped Failure), so here the graph tells us the same fact the
throughput remains the same for all scenarios and looks like the load
graph.

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