The NS3 5G Technologies is intended to achieve the maximum data transfer rate and minimum transmission delay. These two objectives can be achieved by mmWave Technology. In recent days, Multipath Transmission Control Protocol (MPTCP) and 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) has become the core technologies of the 5G wireless system for enabling multi-homing services. 

In this article, you will come to know the Interesting facts about NS3 5G projects with their technological developments!!!

Introduction: A Complete Guide to NS3 5G Technology

Technically, NS3 is a promising simulation tool to weigh the efficiency of simulated 5G network components and protocols (MPTCP and 3GPP). But due to its diffraction characteristics, it has the high possibility of hindering the physical entities, which may lead to communication link interruption. Though it has some limitations, it has some benefits like customizable PHY and MAC layers protocols to incorporate all kinds of algorithms and OFDM numerologies. For example, ns–3 LTE module supports basic operation of the 5G system such as full-stack development, advanced architecture, end-to-end connectivity, and more.

Smart Strategies to mmWave ns-3 module for 5G Network

Now, we can see the importance of the mmWave module in the 5G network since mmWave module is the special library introduced in the NS-3 simulator to integrate 5G communication with mmWave technologies. Below, we have also specified the special features of the mmWave module.

Main features of mmWave NS3 Module:

• 3GPP New Radio (NR) frame structure can be designed using customizable physical and Mac protocols.
• Retransmission is possible to gain the loosed packets by improving the Radio link control (RLC) layer with packets re-segmentation 
• Allow simulating all key components of the network along with MME. 
• Include an extensive set of channel models with 3GPP standards that support 0.5-100GHz frequencies band. 
• Enable advanced carrier aggregation and analysis in the MAC layer protocol
• Able to use dynamic TDD frame configuration based on customizable schedulers 
• Easy to trace the channel through dual connectivity with both LTE base stations and Scell handover 

Our development team has a year of experience in handling wireless cellular communication projects in different development tools and technologies. So, we are familiar with all the newly released versions of NS3 simulator. For your information, we have mentioned the top widely used NS3 5G simulation tools.

Latest Versions of NS3 Modules in 5G 

We will look out the difference between three different versions of Ns3 Module and its newly updated characteristics.

Version: 2.0

• Operate with ns-3.29
• Existing Technology: mmWave Cellular Network Simulator 2.0
• Newly Updated Characteristics
  • Include Multiple Antennas and Multiple Panel Sparse BS Performance
  • Support Carrier Aggregation to access multi-spectrum bands at the same time
  • In order to handle LTE-mmwave in HetNets, dual connectivity is essential, but it is not included in the inter-system handover. 
  • Provide mmWave module through “using mmwave” code. And, here, the code is considered backward compatible, but still, it operates on the old scripts.

Version: v3.0

• Operate with ns-3.31
• Existing Technology: mmWave Cellular Network Simulator v3.0
• Newly Updated Characteristics
  • Support hybrid beamforming models with SVD-DFT based mechanisms 
  • Facilitate to import other modules to work with ns-3.31 by a proper software update
  • Easy to design the new channel model by mans of 3GPP standard (TR 38.901)
  • Eliminate the drawbacks of existing channel models and modernize all the models to utilize new characteristics. Simple to simulate any kind of environs using  channel traces
  • Allow modifying the PHY and MAC layer protocols to provide 3GPP New Radio (NR), Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing, frame structure, and more.

Version: v4.0

• Operate with ns-3.33
• Existing Technology: mmWave Cellular Network Simulator v4.0
• Newly Updated Characteristics
  • Easy to test the program code in ns-3.33 version 
  • In order to assess the energy utilization of the mmWave entities, it allows importing external libraries  
  • Support NR module for error models, which is also included in the initial version of the 5G-LENA simulator. 

Research Challenges in 5G Network [Quick Guide]

One of the major challenges in 5G technology is scalability. Here, 5G uses an extensive range of dynamic moving nodes. Because of the continuous movement of the nodes, the varying channel status should be updated routinely. In the case of using low-delay applications, we need to specify the packet timelines based on scheduled communication. For that, we have to follow any of the following designs: 

• Migration in cluster-based cloud computing: It achieves scaling by developing the simulator in large-scale cluster infrastructure. For instance: Amazon Web Services (AWS) 
• Design of Low-rank channel model: It builds the simple low-rank models with less computation effort, which is based on the end-to-end phased array system.

In order to attain compatibility in the NS3 5G project developments, we have integrated the mmWave module with the new version of NS-3. As a result, it also includes the following modules in NS3 5G Simulations are listed below.

Related modules in NS3 for 5G 

• ns3-mmwave-iab 
  • It is expanded from the ns3-mmWave module by enabling the NS3 wireless Simulation – relay communication on ns-3 NetDevice.
  • Moreover, it increases the chance of building and testing in-band relay networks at different mmWave rates of recurrence.

• 5G-LENA 
  • For LENA support, the GPLv2 NR tool was introduced as a plugin module in the ns-3 network simulation tool. 
  • This tool is more useful for all levels of users, such as individuals and business people, etc., for experimental replication.
  • By the by, LTE/EPC is imported from the mmWave module of Ns-3 LTE, which includes basic Mac and Physical layers. New Radio characteristics.
• MilliCar
  • It is one of the major ns-3 modules used for handling mmWave communication, such as mmWave New Radio V2X networks. 
  • And also, we can analyze the behavior of the user equipment and their energy utilization in mmWave Technology. 

As a matter of fact, based on the project requirements, only the network simulator and add-on modules are to be selected. Our developers will guide you to handpick the tool for the best experimental results based on your topic selection. Further, these results are needed to assess for knowing the efficiency of the developed system. For that, below, we have provided vital performance metrics used in NS3 5G projects.

NS3 Simulation Parameters for 5G Network

• SubbandWidth – Distance across single sub-bands in MHz
• SubframePerFrame – Totalquantity of subframes in a single frame 
• SymbolLength – Span of one Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) symbols (measured in µs)
• MacPhyDataLatency – Number of Subframes among MAC scheduling request and scheduled subframe
• SubframeLength – Distance of single subframe (measured in µs)
• NumSubbands – Amount of sub-bands
• SubcarriersPerSymbol – Total amount of subcarriers for each symbol
• CenterFreq – Set of carrier frequencies in GHz
• NumRefScPerSymbol – Number ofReference subcarriers for each symbol  
• SymbolsPerSubframe – Total quantity of Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) symbols within one slot
• NumUICtrlSymbols – Number ofUplink (UL) control symbols for every subframe
• GuardPeriod – Guard Interval between Uplink and Downlink mode switching (measured in µs)
• NumDICtrlSymbols – Number ofDownlink (DL) control symbols for each subframe
• NumHarqProcesses – Number of Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) processes for both Downlink and Uplink
• PhyMacDataLatency – Number of Subframes among Transmit Block reception at physical layer and delivery to MAC layer

In addition, we are also pleased to inform you of the future advancements of the 5G network in real-world research. The following ideas are selected from core research areas of 5G communication which has long-lasting future scope.

Potential Uses and Future Extensions of 5G Network

• UAV and Robotics assisted Public Safety Networks
• Beam Alignment and Tracking by 3GPP
• Traffic Model Analysis in Vehicular Communication
• 3GPP based 5G/NR Multi-Connectivity in Carrier Aggregation
• Multi-hop Routing in backhaul Wireless Networks
• Augmented and Virtual Reality based Applications Design 

Further, if you want to know more about both the current and future directions of 5G networks using NS3 simulator, then contact us. Our research experts will reach you instantly with detailed explanations ns3 5G on top-trending research areas.