Emulating Software-Defined Small-Cell Wireless Mesh Networks Using ns-3 and Mininet

Sammanfattning: The objective of this thesis was to create a network emulator, suitable for evaluatingsolutions in a small-cell wireless mesh SDN backhaul network environment, by integratingexisting software. The most important efforts in this process have been a transparentintegration of Mininet and ns-3 at both the data and the control plane, with ns-3 servingas the front-end. The goal has been to design the system such that solutions revolvingaround fast failover, resilient routing, and energy efficient small cell management may beevaluated. The constituent components include an augmented ns-3 WiFi module withmillimeter wave communication capabilities; a socket API suitable for remote-controllermanagement, as well as the network emulator Mininet. Mininet in turn integrates OpenvSwitch, virtual hosts in the form of Linux network namespaces, and OpenFlow controllers.The work has also included a brief evaluation of the system, which revealed that the designhas a fundamental flaw.