High Fidelity Modelling Solutions offered by CORE-nas PTY LTD

Dec. 16, 2012 - PRLog -- Modelling Architecture
Modeler is architected on a series of hierarchical editors that parallel the structure of real networks, equipment, and protocols.

Project Editor
graphically represents the topology of a communications network.

Users create node and link objects to represent network topology elements and configure those quickly using dialog boxes. Projects can contain multiple “what if” scenarios to facilitate design comparisons.

Node Editor
captures the architecture of a network device or system by depicting the flow of data between functional elements, called "modules".

Modules typically represent network protocols or algorithms and are assigned process models (developed in the Process Editor) to achieve any required behaviour.

Process Editor
uses a powerful finite state machine (FSM) approach to support detailed specification of protocols, resources, applications, algorithms, and queuing policies.

FSMs are dynamic and can be spawned during simulation in response to specific events. The C/C++ code that governs each state of a process model can be rapidly customized. CORE-nas Kernel Procedure APIs exist to facilitate development and support common communications mechanisms, such as packets, queues, and traffic.

Complete Protocol and Vendor Device Model Suite

Modeler’s comprehensive library of more than 400 detailed protocol and vendor device models accelerates the model design process.

The most popular protocol models include:

BGP
HAIPE
IPv6
LTE (Long Term Evolution)
MANET
(AODV, DSR, GRP, OLSR, OSPFv3, TORA)
MPLS
RIPng

Satellite technology

♦ SIP
♦ TCP
♦ TDMA
♦ UMTS
♦ VLAN
♦ VoIP
♦ VPN
♦ WiMAX (802.16e)
♦ WLAN (802.11a, b, e, g)
♦ ZigBee (802.15.4).

Network equipment models are offered for leading vendors including:

♦ Alcatel-Lucent
♦ Cisco Systems
♦ Extreme
♦ Foundry    HP
♦ IBM
♦ Juniper
♦ Nortel

All standard models are provided with source code to facilitate customisation.

Incorporating Operational Network Data

Network models can be built by instantiating objects from the model library, importing configurations from text/XML files, or by importing operational data from device configurations and other third-party data sources. Operational network traffic flow and load data can be imported from text files or via popular third-party tools from CA, Cisco Systems, HP, InfoVista, NetScout, Statseeker, and others.

Capturing Live Application Behaviour

Modeler offers numerous advanced features for capturing the behaviour of custom applications. Live applications can be captured using  ACE™ Analyst solution or injected into a simulation in real-time using System-in-the-Loop.

ACE Analyst allows users to:

♦ Capture packet traces of live applications in a production or test environment
♦ Define a model that captures the intricacies of live applications
♦ Craft new application models from scratch by architecting transaction flows using Modeler’s Whiteboard feature

System-in-the-Loop allows users to:

♦ Perform developmental, interoperability, scalability, and conformance testing of prototype hardware and software applications
♦ Create a virtual training facility for devices or applications interfacing directly with simulated network infrastructure containing numerous simulated devices
♦ Study the behaviour of prototype applications by deploying them on a simulated network topology
♦ Analyse the performance of a new protocol deployed in a simulated network environment by injecting real network traffic

Detailed Wireless Modelling

The Modeler Wireless Suite and Modeler Wireless Suite for Defence provide the industry's most flexible and scalable wireless network modelling environment, and include a broad range of powerful technologies for accelerating simulation run-time. All wireless characteristics are seamlessly integrated with higher layer protocol models, providing the ability to model the many aspects of wireless transmission, including:

♦ RF propagation (path loss with terrain diffraction, fading, and atmospheric attenuation)
♦ Signal modulation and de-modulation
♦ Interference and jamming
♦ Transmitter/receiver characteristics
♦ Node mobility including handover
♦ Interconnection with wired transport networks

The Modeler Wireless Suite and Modeler Wireless Suite for Defence simulate wireless links using a modular and opensource framework, called the Transceiver Pipeline™. The Transceiver Pipeline is fully customisable and designed to efficiently calculate wireless effects such as link closure, directional antenna gain, path loss, noise and interference, modulation effects, and bit errors.

Understanding RF Propagation over Open Terrain and Within Urban Environments
Modeler Wireless Suite and Modeler Wireless Suite for Defence offer multiple models for calculating signal propagation over open terrain and within urban environments. The open modelling framework can be used to customize existing propagation models (through parameter sets or model source code) and create custom model implementations.

Models provided include:

♦ CCIR
♦ Free-Space
♦ HATA
♦ Longley Rice
♦ Walfisch-Ikegami

Modeler Wireless Suite and Modeler Wireless Suite for Defence utilize Digital Terrain Elevation Data (DTED) and Digital Elevation Map (DEM) raw data sources for propagation calculations and rendering of elevation maps.

The Modeler Wireless Suite for Defence also includes the Terrain Integrated Rough Earth Model (TIREM) that computes accurate propagation losses due to terrain effects, such as diffraction and absorption, within wireless network simulations. TIREM is the de facto United States DoD standard algorithm for signal propagation modelling. The Modeler Wireless Suite for Defence supports TIREM v4 (available exclusively through OPNET) along with TIREM v3. TIREM v4 operates significantly faster than v3 with added precision.

3D Network Visualization

The 3D Network Visualizer (3DNV™) enables three-dimensional displays of Modeler’s network simulations that incorporate topology, node relationships, and performance statistics overlaid on realistically rendered terrain. 3DNV is available as part of the Modeler Wireless Suite for Defence and is designed to facilitate the efforts of wireless engineers and defence network planners to optimize mobile system development and deployment.

3DNV creates a three-dimensional synthetic environment that provides a backdrop for overlaid node mobility and communications system performance. 3DNV utilizes OpenFlight databases, the industry standard for producing three-dimensional synthetic environments, to render terrain and network entity representations.

CORE-nas also provides an optional Multi-Federate Logger for 3DNV capability. The Multi-Federate Logger for 3DNV captures and saves information passed between OPNET Modeler and 3DNV during simulation runtime and is used to review results visually post-simulation.