A Novel Simulation Framework for Wireless Cognitive Networks: Application to Cooperative Spectrum Sensing

This paper proposes a novel simulation framework designed to assess the performance of wireless cognitive networks in realistic scenarios. The simulation framework is based on the combination of the OMNeT++ discrete event simulator with Matlab functionalities. The popular INET simulation package for OMNeT++ is extended with the introduction of cognitive functionalities and integrated with a more accurate wireless channel model developed in Matlab, which is employed to simulate propagation effects of any radio activity and serves as an input for spectrum sensing algorithms. The utilization of a general purpose network simulator makes it possible to evaluate the algorithm's efficiency from a systemlevel point of view; moreover, it allows us to take into account many factors which influence network behavior in real scenarios (for example, node mobility), that would usually be neglected in analytical analyses. Copyright © 2012 ICST.