International Journal of Electronic Devices and Networking
2025, Vol. 6, Issue 1, Part A
Simulation of wireless sensor networks (WSN) using NS-3 and OMNeT++
Author(s): Jassim Abdullah
Abstract: Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) have gained significant importance in a variety of applications, from environmental monitoring to healthcare and industrial automation. The simulation of these networks plays a crucial role in evaluating performance metrics such as energy consumption, throughput, packet delivery ratio (PDR), and delay, which are essential for network optimization. This paper presents a comparative study of two popular simulators, NS-3 and OMNeT++, for simulating WSNs under varying node densities (20, 50, and 100 nodes) to assess their performance in terms of the aforementioned metrics. The primary objective of the study was to evaluate and compare the efficiency, scalability, and effectiveness of NS-3 and OMNeT++ in simulating WSNs, focusing on energy efficiency, throughput, packet delivery ratio, and delay, which are critical in large-scale WSN deployments. The methods involved simulating a range of network scenarios in both NS-3 and OMNeT++ using identical network topologies and parameters. Energy consumption, throughput, PDR, and delay were measured and compared across different node densities. Statistical analyses, including paired t-tests, ANOVA, and regression analysis, were used to assess the significance of the differences between the simulators. The results revealed that OMNeT++ consistently outperformed NS-3 in terms of energy efficiency, throughput, PDR, and delay. OMNeT++ showed better scalability, with a more stable throughput and a lower delay, particularly as node density increased. Statistical analysis confirmed the significance of these differences, particularly in energy consumption and throughput. These findings suggest that OMNeT++ is better suited for simulating large-scale WSNs where energy efficiency, scalability, and low latency are crucial. In conclusion, OMNeT++ is recommended for large-scale WSN simulations, while NS-3 remains valuable for detailed protocol simulations in smaller networks. A hybrid approach combining both simulators could be explored for optimizing WSN performance in future research.
DOI: 10.22271/27084477.2025.v6.i1a.73
Pages: 24-30 | Views: 106 | Downloads: 43
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How to cite this article:
Jassim Abdullah. Simulation of wireless sensor networks (WSN) using NS-3 and OMNeT++. Int J Electron Devices Networking 2025;6(1):24-30. DOI: 10.22271/27084477.2025.v6.i1a.73
