CommonCode: A code-reuse platform for wireless network experimentation

Abstract

Broadband network based on multi-hop wireless technologies predicts the great outbreak of future emerging services and new applications. Also future emerging services and new applications demand broadband multi-hop wireless networks. To provide broadband of multi-hop wireless network, we need to design totally new protocols from scratch. At this moment, we remind that totally new protocol must be verified in real network system. Furthermore, a novel experiment platform for the verification can accelerate future network innovation. Thus experimentation of a wireless network protocol over the air is of significant important, especially timely evaluation of newly proposed protocols. However it is rarely performed compared to the simulation because of the difficulties in coding and debugging as well as lack of scalability and repeatability. In this paper, the concept of a code-reuse platform making use of a simulation code directly for real experiments is revisited as an efficient and easy means of experimentation. Further, an architecture and key components of an idealistic code-reuse platform is suggested and then CommonCode, the most advanced code-reuse platform is proposed. The CommonCode platform consists of CommonCode simulation platform and CommonCode experimentation platform. They share the exactly same codes of network protocol stacks and scripts for execution. Thus, we can utilize the benefits of a network simulator such as flexible programmable environment to realize new ideas into the platform faster and easier, repeatable executions to fix logical design errors, and scalable network configuration to verify or evaluate designed system. CommonCode can provide a novel experimentation platform to researchers who are interest in development of new protocols. Moreover, the proposed platform facilitates cross-layer protocol design including MAC (Multiple Access Control) layer in an overlay manner, although it is very hard to implement in the legacy layered ...