How to Start Unicast Routing Projects Using MATLAB

To start a Unicast Routing project in MATLAB, we will need to replicate the packets routing among two particular nodes like source and destination within a network in which a unicast route is computed from the source node to the destination node. Unicast routing can execute to utilise diverse algorithms like Dijkstra’s Algorithm or Bellman-Ford. In this manual, we provide crucial concepts and essential steps to start a Unicast Routing project in MATLAB that contains replicating a network, determining the unicast path, and envisioning the network.

Steps to Start Unicast Routing Projects in MATLAB

  1. Understand the Unicast Routing Concept
  • In a network, Unicast specifies the interaction among a single source node and a single destination node.
  • The unicast routing’s aim is to determine the shortest path or best path according to some parameter like cost, latency, and so on, among the origin and the end node.
  • Dijkstra’s Algorithm (for shortest path) and Bellman-Ford Algorithm (for networks with negative weights) frequently utilised for unicast routing.
  1. Define the Network Topology

In MATLAB, network topology can design to utilise a graph or adjacency matrix in which nodes denote the routers or devices, and edges represent interaction links among them. Also, we can denote the links including particular weights like distance, cost, or latency.

Example: Defining a Network using an Adjacency Matrix

% Define the adjacency matrix for a simple network with 5 nodes

adjMatrix = [

0, 10, inf, 30, inf;  % Node 1 connected to Node 2 (cost 10) and Node 4 (cost 30)

10, 0, 50, inf, inf;  % Node 2 connected to Node 1 (cost 10) and Node 3 (cost 50)

inf, 50, 0, 10, 60;   % Node 3 connected to Node 2 (cost 50), Node 4 (cost 10), Node 5 (cost 60)

30, inf, 10, 0, 20;   % Node 4 connected to Node 1 (cost 30), Node 3 (cost 10), Node 5 (cost 20)

inf, inf, 60, 20, 0    % Node 5 connected to Node 3 (cost 60) and Node 4 (cost 20)

];

% Create the graph object for visualization

G = graph(adjMatrix);

plot(G, ‘Layout’, ‘force’);

title(‘Network Topology’);

Above code helps to makes a simple 5-node network in which every entry within adjacency matrix that denotes the link costs among nodes. The inf values show no direct link among the nodes.

  1. Implement Unicast Routing Algorithm

We can be executed Dijkstra’s Algorithm or any other appropriate algorithm for determining the shortest path among two nodes within the network. In this case, we need to utilise the Dijkstra’s Algorithm for finding the shortest path from a source node to a destination node.

Dijkstra’s Algorithm Implementation

Below is simplified code how we can execute the Dijkstra’s Algorithm using MATLAB to compute the shortest path for unicast routing:

function [shortestDist, path] = dijkstra(adjMatrix, sourceNode, destNode)

% Dijkstra’s Algorithm to find the shortest path from sourceNode to destNode

n = size(adjMatrix, 1);  % Number of nodes

dist = inf(1, n);         % Distance array, initialized to infinity

dist(sourceNode) = 0;     % Distance to source is 0

visited = false(1, n);     % Keep track of visited nodes

previous = NaN(1, n);      % To store the previous node in the shortest path

while true

% Find the unvisited node with the smallest tentative distance

[~, currentNode] = min(dist .* ~visited + inf(1, n) .* visited);

% If all nodes are visited or remaining distances are infinite, break

if dist(currentNode) == inf

break;

end

% Mark the current node as visited

visited(currentNode) = true;

% Update distances to neighboring nodes

for neighbor = 1:n

if adjMatrix(currentNode, neighbor) ~= inf && ~visited(neighbor)

newDist = dist(currentNode) + adjMatrix(currentNode, neighbor);

if newDist < dist(neighbor)

dist(neighbor) = newDist;

previous(neighbor) = currentNode;

end

end

end

end

% Reconstruct the shortest path from sourceNode to destNode

path = [];

currentNode = destNode;

while ~isnan(previous(currentNode))

path = [currentNode, path];

currentNode = previous(currentNode);

end

path = [sourceNode, path];  % Add source node at the beginning

shortestDist = dist(destNode);  % The shortest distance to the destination

end

  1. Run the Unicast Routing Algorithm

Here, we have executed the Dijkstra’s Algorithm then we can request it for determining the shortest path from a source node to a destination node.

sourceNode = 1;  % Set the source node

destNode = 5;    % Set the destination node

% Run Dijkstra’s Algorithm to compute the shortest path

[shortestDist, path] = dijkstra(adjMatrix, sourceNode, destNode);

% Display the results

fprintf(‘Shortest Distance from Node %d to Node %d: %f\n’, sourceNode, destNode, shortestDist);

fprintf(‘Shortest Path: ‘);

disp(path);

It will indicate the shortest distance from the source node to the destination node and the path can be obtained by packet.

  1. Visualize the Network and Routing Path

Envision the network with the support of MATLAB’s graph plotting functions and show the shortest path calculated using unicast routing algorithm.

Example: Visualizing the Network and Highlighting the Path

% Visualize the network topology

G = graph(adjMatrix);

figure;

plot(G, ‘Layout’, ‘force’);

title(‘Network Topology’);

% Highlight the shortest path from sourceNode to destNode

highlight(G, path, ‘EdgeColor’, ‘r’, ‘LineWidth’, 2);

This code envisions the network and indicates the shortest path within red color among the source node and the destination node.

  1. Testing and Evaluation

We will need to experiment the unicast routing algorithm including diverse network topologies and nodes:

  • Modify the adjacency matrix for analysing various network structures.
  • Vary the source and destination nodes to replicate diverse routing conditions.
  • Analyze performance: Experiment the performance of unicast algorithm by executing it on larger networks and equating the processes times.
  1. Extend the Project with Advanced Features

When we have a functioning unicast routing project then we can be prolong it including more aspects like:

  1. Dynamic Topology: Replicate the network modifications like link failures or the count of new nodes and recompute the routing paths.
  2. Energy-Aware Routing: We need to integrate an energy model to the network in which routing obtains the nodes and links power consumption.
  3. Multi-path Routing: Prolong the project for determining numerous routes among the origin and end nodes for fault tolerance, load balancing, and so on.
  4. Traffic Simulation: Replicate data packets sending to utilise the determined unicast paths.
  5. Performance Metrics: Estimate the routing algorithm’s performance such as throughput, latency, or packet delivery ratio.

Conclusion

Starting a Unicast Routing project using MATLAB:

  1. Create a network topology to utilise an adjacency matrix or graph object.
  2. We can execute the unicast routing algorithm such as Dijkstra’s Algorithm for determining the shortest route among the source and destination.
  3. Envision the network and visualize the calculated paths.
  4. Experiment and measure the algorithm on diverse networks.
  5. Prolong the project including more aspects such as dynamic topology changes, energy-efficient routing, or multi-path routing.

Adhering to these steps will permit you to create and simulate the Unicast Routing projects and discover further concepts in networking within MATLAB and broaden the projects to study various features.