Realistic wireless emulation for performance evaluation of tactical MANET protocols

Traditional approaches for testing MANET protocols and applications prior to field experimentation often involve simulation tools or small-sized physical testbeds. However, simulation tools typically do not run in real-time and rely on simplified models rather than a real system, while physical testbeds are prohibitively expensive to build and operate. A more practical method is to use emulation tools as they provide high-fidelity network modeling in a cost-effective manner without sacrificing realism. In this paper, we present the use of wireless IP scalable emulator (WISER) and its capabilities for testing and evaluating two network routing agents, namely congestion control agent (CCA) and soft handoff agent (SHA), developed for tactical MANETs under the CERDEC PILSNER program. These two agents are integrated within the WISER framework, providing them a scalable and realistic wireless MANET testbed which otherwise was not readily available. Experiments demonstrating interoperability of these technologies are included.