From Simulation to Real Deployments in WSN and Back

The paper presents our efforts to validate some high-level aspects of the WSN simulator we have built as well as the operational functionality of our multi-parameter MAC protocol. In order to do so, we resort to real deployments involving TelosB motes. The simulator, named Castalia, boasts the most accurate wireless channel and radio models for WSN found in current literature. These models are capturing some essential experimental findings. This does not guaranty though that the simulator will behave similarly with a real deployment at the high level (i.e., the protocol or application level). We investigate how our multi-parameter MAC protocol behaves in a real deployment so as to take a first step towards validating and possibly tuning Castalia. The investigation starts by determining the connectivity map for the real deployment and then trying to reproduce it in the simulator. We then proceed with the protocol testing and comparing. We report the difficulties faced and our findings from this process.