How to Start Decentralized Networks Projects Using NS3

To start a Decentralized Network project in NS3 which encompasses to configure a network without a central control point where nodes can independently function and direct interact with each other. Decentralized networks are frequently used in peer-to-peer (P2P) networking, ad-hoc wireless networks, and blockchain systems. Below is a basic approach to replicate a decentralized network in NS3:

Steps to Start Decentralized Network Project in NS3

  1. Define the Project Objectives and Scope
  • Detect the primary purpose of the decentralized network like peer-to-peer communication, resource sharing, data dissemination, decentralized consensus, or ad-hoc networking.
  • Find out certain objectives in a decentralized configuration such as estimating network resilience, latency, bandwidth usage, or fault tolerance.
  1. Install NS3 and Set Up the Environment
  • Go to NS3 official website to download and install NS3 on the system.
  • Then execute sample scripts to check that NS3 is installed and operating properly.
  1. Understand NS3’s Relevant Modules
  • Wifi or LTE Modules: Make wireless decentralized networks that is generally within decentralized, mobile, or ad-hoc networks utilising wifi or lte modules.
  • Mobility Models: In mobile ad-hoc networks (MANETs) or decentralized IoT configurations, mobility models replicate the node movement that is significant.
  • Routing Protocols: NS3 contains decentralized routing protocols like AODV and DSDV that allow nodes, routing packets without central control.
  • Energy Models: If decentralized network is energy-constrained like in sensor networks, energy models are helpful.
  1. Design the Network Topology
  • Discover the volume of nodes and the layout of the network. Nodes normally associate according to the proximity, signal strength, or network topology in a decentralized network.
  • Make nodes and configure a topology in which nodes interact with each other without a central server to utilize NodeContainer.
  1. Configure Decentralized Communication and Routing
  • Ad-hoc Mode for WiFi: Configure WiFi in ad-hoc mode to permit the nodes to direly link without access points.
  • Routing Protocols: Allow routing among the nodes to utilize a decentralized routing protocol like AODV (Ad hoc On-Demand Distance Vector) or DSDV (Destination-Sequenced Distance Vector). These protocols actively determine routes if required, to match the decentralized interaction.
  1. Implement Peer-to-Peer or Decentralized Applications
  • Peer-to-Peer Data Sharing: Replicate peer-to-peer data sharing or interaction to utilize OnOffApplication, UdpEcho, or custom applications.
  • Decentralized Discovery and Resource Sharing: We can set custom applications in which nodes propagate or demand data periodically from closest nodes to simulate the decentralized resource sharing.
  • Broadcast or Gossip Protocols: Execute a broadcast protocol or gossip protocol, replicating data dissemination over the network.
  1. Set Up Key Performance Metrics
  • Latency: We estimate the time it takes attaining diverse nodes without centralized routing for messages.
  • Throughput: Monitor the data rate over the network, computing efficiency.
  • Packet Delivery Ratio: We calculate how many packets are effectively shared within a multi-hop or decentralized configuration.
  • Network Resilience: Experiment how successfully the network sustains the connectivity to replicate node failures.
  1. Simulate and Analyze Network Behavior
  • Now, execute the simulation including diverse numbers of nodes, network densities, and mobility, monitoring how it affects the decentralized network’s performance.
  • Accumulate data on packet transmissions, receptions, and routing decisions to utilizing NS3’s tracing and logging aspects.
  • In diverse situation like increased node mobility or network load, envision the data to equate the network performance.

Example Code Outline for a Decentralized Network in NS3

Below is an example configuration for a basic decentralized network with nodes to utilize AODV for routing in an ad-hoc WiFi network:

#include “ns3/core-module.h”

#include “ns3/network-module.h”

#include “ns3/internet-module.h”

#include “ns3/wifi-module.h”

#include “ns3/aodv-module.h”

#include “ns3/mobility-module.h”

#include “ns3/applications-module.h”

using namespace ns3;

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

NodeContainer nodes;

nodes.Create(10);  // Create 10 nodes for the decentralized network

// Set up WiFi in ad-hoc mode

WifiHelper wifi;

wifi.SetStandard(WIFI_PHY_STANDARD_80211b);

YansWifiPhyHelper wifiPhy = YansWifiPhyHelper::Default();

YansWifiChannelHelper wifiChannel = YansWifiChannelHelper::Default();

wifiPhy.SetChannel(wifiChannel.Create());

WifiMacHelper wifiMac;

wifiMac.SetType(“ns3::AdhocWifiMac”);

NetDeviceContainer devices = wifi.Install(wifiPhy, wifiMac, nodes);

// Set up mobility model

MobilityHelper mobility;

mobility.SetPositionAllocator(“ns3::GridPositionAllocator”,

“MinX”, DoubleValue(0.0),

“MinY”, DoubleValue(0.0),

“DeltaX”, DoubleValue(5.0),

“DeltaY”, DoubleValue(5.0),

“GridWidth”, UintegerValue(5),

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

mobility.SetMobilityModel(“ns3::RandomWalk2dMobilityModel”,

“Bounds”, RectangleValue(Rectangle(-50, 50, -50, 50)));

mobility.Install(nodes);

// Install internet stack with AODV routing protocol

AodvHelper aodv;

InternetStackHelper stack;

stack.SetRoutingHelper(aodv);  // Set AODV as the routing protocol

stack.Install(nodes);

Ipv4AddressHelper address;

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

Ipv4InterfaceContainer interfaces = address.Assign(devices);

// Install a peer-to-peer application on each node

uint16_t port = 9;

OnOffHelper onoff(“ns3::UdpSocketFactory”, InetSocketAddress(Ipv4Address(“255.255.255.255”), port));

onoff.SetConstantRate(DataRate(“1Mbps”));

ApplicationContainer apps;

for (uint32_t i = 0; i < nodes.GetN(); ++i) {

apps.Add(onoff.Install(nodes.Get(i)));

}

apps.Start(Seconds(1.0));

apps.Stop(Seconds(10.0));

// Set up a packet sink on each node to receive data

PacketSinkHelper sink(“ns3::UdpSocketFactory”, InetSocketAddress(Ipv4Address::GetAny(), port));

apps = sink.Install(nodes);

apps.Start(Seconds(1.0));

apps.Stop(Seconds(10.0));

// Run the simulation

Simulator::Run();

Simulator::Destroy();

return 0;

}

Additional Considerations

  • Fault Tolerance: Replicate the node failures or mobility, observing how the network self-heals.
  • Security Protocols: We can append simple encryption or authentication, measuring how security impacts the decentralized performance.
  • Scalability Testing: Maximize the volume of nodes to experiment how successfully the network balances.
  • Distributed Consensus: Execute a consensus algorithm to check the data consistency over nodes if replicating the blockchain-like networks.

By using NS2, we delivered the structured procedure to replicate and analyse the Decentralized Networks projects and we provided example coding with more considerations.   Additional specific details will be offered as per your needs.

To start a Decentralized Network project in NS3 projects we will guide you with best results, send to phdprojects.org  all your project details to get  perfect configurations done for your projects.