Steps to implement molecular communication in ns3

To implement Molecular communication in ns-3 done by transmitting the information using molecules rather than electromagnetic waves. This type of communication mainly used in nanoscale and biomedical applications. The following steps were given to set up a basic molecular communication simulation in ns-3.

Step-by-Step Guide to Implement Molecular communication in ns-3

Install ns-3: Ensure you have ns-3 installed. You can download it from the official website and follow the installation instructions.

wget https://www.nsnam.org/release/ns-allinone-3.xx.tar.bz2

tar -xjf ns-allinone-3.xx.tar.bz2

cd ns-allinone-3.xx

./build.py –enable-examples –enable-tests

Set Up Molecular Communication Module: Molecular communication is a specialized area that isn’t covered by the default ns-3 modules. You’ll need to add a custom module or use an existing implementation of molecular communication for ns-3. One such implementation is the Nano-Sim module.

You can download and integrate Nano-Sim from its repository:

git clone https://github.com/signetlabdei/nanons-sim.git

cd nanons-sim

./waf configure

./waf build

Include Necessary Headers: Include the required headers for molecular communication.

#include “ns3/core-module.h”

#include “ns3/network-module.h”

#include “ns3/mobility-module.h”

#include “ns3/nano-sim-module.h”

Create Network Topology: Create nodes representing the transmitter and receiver nanodevices.

NodeContainer nodes;

nodes.Create(2); // Create 2 nodes: transmitter and receiver

Set Up Mobility Model: Configure the mobility model to simulate the placement and movement of the nanodevices.

MobilityHelper mobility;

mobility.SetPositionAllocator(“ns3::GridPositionAllocator”,

“MinX”, DoubleValue(0.0),

“MinY”, DoubleValue(0.0),

“DeltaX”, DoubleValue(10.0),

“DeltaY”, DoubleValue(0.0),

“GridWidth”, UintegerValue(2),

“LayoutType”, StringValue(“RowFirst”));

mobility.SetMobilityModel(“ns3::ConstantPositionMobilityModel”);

mobility.Install(nodes);

Install Molecular Communication Channel: Set up the molecular communication channel and install it on the nodes.

Ptr<MolecularChannel> channel = CreateObject<MolecularChannel>();

MolecularHelper molecular;

molecular.SetChannel(channel);

NetDeviceContainer devices = molecular.Install(nodes);

Set Up Molecular Communication Parameters: Configure the parameters for molecular communication, such as diffusion coefficient, molecule types, and simulation time.

Ptr<MolecularChannel> molecularChannel = DynamicCast<MolecularChannel>(devices.Get(0)->GetChannel());

molecularChannel->SetDiffusionCoefficient(0.1); // example value

Create Applications: Create and install applications to simulate the transmission and reception of molecules.

Ptr<MolecularTransmitter> transmitter = CreateObject<MolecularTransmitter>();

transmitter->SetChannel(molecularChannel);

transmitter->SetPosition(Vector(0, 0, 0));

transmitter->SetTxRate(DataRate(“1Mbps”));

Ptr<MolecularReceiver> receiver = CreateObject<MolecularReceiver>();

receiver->SetChannel(molecularChannel);

receiver->SetPosition(Vector(10, 0, 0));

receiver->SetRxThreshold(1);

nodes.Get(0)->AddApplication(transmitter);

nodes.Get(1)->AddApplication(receiver);

transmitter->SetStartTime(Seconds(1.0));

transmitter->SetStopTime(Seconds(10.0));

receiver->SetStartTime(Seconds(1.0));

receiver->SetStopTime(Seconds(10.0));

Run the Simulation: Finally, run the simulation and clean up.

Simulator::Stop(Seconds(10.0));

Simulator::Run();

Simulator::Destroy();

Example Complete Script

Below is an example complete script for setting up a basic molecular communication simulation in ns-3: