WINSE: WiMAX NS-2 extension

The IEEE 802.16 standard defines a wireless broadband technology called WiMAX. When compared with other wireless technologies, it introduces many interesting advantages at PHY, MAC, and QoS layers. Heavy simulations are needed to study the performance of IEEE 802.16 and propose further enhancements to this standard. Link-level simulations are not always sufficient, while system-level simulators are not always accurate enough to capture MAC and transport protocol details. We implemented an 802.16 extension for the NS-2 network simulator. It includes upper PHY modeling, almost all of the features of the 802.16 MAC layer, as well as the QoS framework. This article describes the implemented features and simulation methodology, while sharing our experience that can be used with other NS-2 modules. There is also an overview of the past and ongoing research.