How to Calculate Network Fronthaul efficiency Level in ns3

To calculate the Network Fronthaul efficiency Level in ns3, we want estimate the performance of fronthaul network that links to remote radio heads (RRHs) to the central unit (CU) in a centralized or cloud radio access network (C-RAN).

Efficiency is measured in terms of data throughput, latency, packet loss, and resource utilization.

Step-by-Step Guide to Calculate Network Fronthaul Efficiency in ns3

1. Set Up the Simulation Environment:
   • Download ns3 and configure it correctly.
   • Include necessary modules for your simulation (e.g., LTE, Internet, PointToPoint).
2. Create Network Topology:
   • Define nodes representing the RRHs, CUs, and other network elements.
   • Set up the fronthaul links between RRHs and CUs using appropriate channel models.
3. Configure Applications:
   • Install traffic generating applications (e.g., UDP, TCP) to simulate the data traffic in the fronthaul network.
4. Enable Tracing and Metrics Collection:
   • Enable tracing to capture relevant metrics such as throughput, latency, and packet loss.
5. Run the Simulation:
   • Execute the simulation and collect the trace data.
6. Analyze the Results:
   • Post-process the trace data to calculate the efficiency metrics.

Example Code Snippet

The given below is the sample setup on how to implement the simple fronthaul network, generate traffic, and monitor the efficiency metrics:

#include “ns3/core-module.h”

#include “ns3/network-module.h”

#include “ns3/internet-module.h”

#include “ns3/point-to-point-module.h”

#include “ns3/applications-module.h”

#include “ns3/lte-module.h”

#include “ns3/flow-monitor-module.h”

using namespace ns3;

NS_LOG_COMPONENT_DEFINE (“FronthaulEfficiencyExample”);

int main (int argc, char *argv[])

{

// Set up logging

LogComponentEnable (“UdpEchoClientApplication”, LOG_LEVEL_INFO);

LogComponentEnable (“UdpEchoServerApplication”, LOG_LEVEL_INFO);

// Create nodes for RRHs and CUs

NodeContainer rrhNodes;

rrhNodes.Create (2);

NodeContainer cuNode;

cuNode.Create (1);

// Set up point-to-point connection for fronthaul links

PointToPointHelper pointToPoint;

pointToPoint.SetDeviceAttribute (“DataRate”, StringValue (“10Gbps”));

pointToPoint.SetChannelAttribute (“Delay”, StringValue (“1ms”));

NetDeviceContainer devices1, devices2;

devices1 = pointToPoint.Install (rrhNodes.Get(0), cuNode.Get(0));

devices2 = pointToPoint.Install (rrhNodes.Get(1), cuNode.Get(0));

// Install Internet stack

InternetStackHelper stack;

stack.Install (rrhNodes);

stack.Install (cuNode);

// Assign IP addresses

Ipv4AddressHelper address;

address.SetBase (“10.1.1.0”, “255.255.255.0”);

Ipv4InterfaceContainer interfaces1 = address.Assign (devices1);

address.SetBase (“10.1.2.0”, “255.255.255.0”);

Ipv4InterfaceContainer interfaces2 = address.Assign (devices2);

// Set up UDP server on CU

UdpEchoServerHelper echoServer (9);

ApplicationContainer serverApps = echoServer.Install (cuNode.Get (0));

serverApps.Start (Seconds (1.0));

serverApps.Stop (Seconds (10.0));

// Set up UDP client on RRH nodes

UdpEchoClientHelper echoClient1 (interfaces1.GetAddress (1), 9);

echoClient1.SetAttribute (“MaxPackets”, UintegerValue (1000));

echoClient1.SetAttribute (“Interval”, TimeValue (Seconds (0.1)));

echoClient1.SetAttribute (“PacketSize”, UintegerValue (1024));

ApplicationContainer clientApps1 = echoClient1.Install (rrhNodes.Get (0));

clientApps1.Start (Seconds (2.0));

clientApps1.Stop (Seconds (10.0));

UdpEchoClientHelper echoClient2 (interfaces2.GetAddress (1), 9);

echoClient2.SetAttribute (“MaxPackets”, UintegerValue (1000));

echoClient2.SetAttribute (“Interval”, TimeValue (Seconds (0.1)));

echoClient2.SetAttribute (“PacketSize”, UintegerValue (1024));

ApplicationContainer clientApps2 = echoClient2.Install (rrhNodes.Get (1));

clientApps2.Start (Seconds (2.0));

clientApps2.Stop (Seconds (10.0));

// Set up FlowMonitor to collect performance metrics

FlowMonitorHelper flowmon;

Ptr<FlowMonitor> monitor = flowmon.InstallAll();

// Run the simulation

Simulator::Stop (Seconds (11.0));

Simulator::Run ();

// Print per-flow statistics

monitor->CheckForLostPackets ();

Ptr<Ipv4FlowClassifier> classifier = DynamicCast<Ipv4FlowClassifier> (flowmon.GetClassifier ());

std::map<FlowId, FlowMonitor::FlowStats> stats = monitor->GetFlowStats ();

for (std::map<FlowId, FlowMonitor::FlowStats>::const_iterator i = stats.begin (); i != stats.end (); ++i)

{

Ipv4FlowClassifier::FiveTuple t = classifier->FindFlow (i->first);

NS_LOG_UNCOND (“Flow ” << i->first << ” (” << t.sourceAddress << ” -> ” << t.destinationAddress << “)”);

NS_LOG_UNCOND (”  Tx Bytes:   ” << i->second.txBytes);

NS_LOG_UNCOND (”  Rx Bytes:   ” << i->second.rxBytes);

NS_LOG_UNCOND (”  Throughput: ” << i->second.rxBytes * 8.0 /(i->second.timeLastRxPacket.GetSeconds () – i->second.timeFirstTxPacket.GetSeconds ()) / 1000 / 1000  << ” Mbps”);

NS_LOG_UNCOND (”  Delay:      ” << i->second.delaySum.GetSeconds () / i->second.rxPackets << “s”);

NS_LOG_UNCOND (”  Packet Loss: ” << i->second.lostPackets);

}

// Clean up

Simulator::Destroy ();

return 0;

}

Explanation:

1. Setup Logging:
   • Enable logging for the UDP applications to track their activities.
2. Create Nodes and Network:
   • Create nodes representing RRHs and a CU.
   • Configure point-to-point links between the RRHs and the CU.
3. Install Network Stack:
   • Install the Internet stack on the RRHs and CU.
   • Assign IP addresses to the devices.
4. Configure Applications:
   • Install a UDP echo server on the CU.
   • Install UDP echo clients on the RRHs, configured to send packets to the server.
5. Flow Monitor:
   • Set up a FlowMonitor to collect and analyze flow statistics.
6. Run Simulation:
   • Run the simulation for the specified duration.
7. Calculate Efficiency Metrics:
   • After the simulation, extract the flow statistics.
   • Calculate throughput, delay, and packet loss for each flow.

Analyzing the Results:

• Throughput:
  • Measure the total received bytes over time to calculate the data rate.

Throughput=RxBytes×8Duration Mbps\text{Throughput} = \frac{\text{RxBytes} \times 8}{\text{Duration}} \text{ Mbps}Throughput=DurationRxBytes×8​ Mbps

• Latency:
  • Measure the average delay of packets.

Delay=Total DelayNumber of Packets\text{Delay} = \frac{\text{Total Delay}}{\text{Number of Packets}}Delay=Number of PacketsTotal Delay​

• Packet Loss:
  • Measure the total number of lost packets.

Lastly, we know how the network efficiency will estimate and simulated in ns3 tools also provide the further insights into the performance of network efficiency across different simulation tools.

We have wide access to Cloud Radio Access Network (C-RAN)  drop us your parameter details to get good guidance from ns3simulation.com