Event-Driven Simulation and Analysis of an Underwater Acoustic Local Area Network
Abstract
"Seastar" is an underwater Local Area Network (LAN) concept involving high-frequency acoustic modems sending large volumes of data from a distributed set of peripheral sensor nodes to a centralized node for data fusion. The notional operating range of the acoustic modems used is 500m. This research considers four candidate Seastar network protocols: Time division multiple access (TDMA) polling with and without Selective automatic repeat request (SRQ), and TDMA token ring with and without SRQ. The number of peripheral nodes, the layout of the nodes, and the noise level of the environment are modeled and evaluated, according to performance metrics, including data throughput, communications latency, and packet error rate. It was determined that in a low-noise environment, the token ring with SRQ protocol delivers the most throughput of data with the minimum number of dropped packets, while in high-noise conditions, polling with SRQ is preferred. In addition, if data throughput is not a priority, polling with SRQ is advantageous. Therefore, it is recommended that a switch be implemented for adaptively selecting the network protocol depending on the prevailing noise conditions and the critical performance metrics.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 01, 2010
- Accession Number
- ADA524553
Entities
People
- Meng Chong Goh
Organizations
- Naval Postgraduate School