Repeatable and Reproducible Wireless Networking Experimentation through Trace-based Simulation

To properly validate wireless networking solutions we depend on experimentation. Simulation very often produces less accurate results due to the use of models that are simplifications of the real phenomena they try to model. Networking experimentation may offer limited repeatability and reproducibility. Being influenced by external random phenomena such as noise, interference, and multipath, real experiments are hardly repeatable. In addition, they are difficult to reproduce due to testbed operational constraints and availability. Without repeatability and reproducibility, the validation of the networking solution under evaluation is questionable. In this paper, we show how the Trace-based Simulation (TS) approach can be used to accurately repeat and reproduce real experiments and, consequently, introduce a paradigm shift when it comes to the evaluation of wireless networking solutions. We present an extensive evaluation of the TS approach using the Fed4FIRE+ w-iLab.2 testbed. The results show that it is possible to repeat and reproduce real experiments using Network Simulator 3 (ns-3) trace-based simulations with more accuracy than in pure simulation, with average accuracy gains above 50%.