Virtual-real combined communication network semi-physical simulation platform and method

Abstract

The invention discloses a virtuality and reality combined communication network semi-physical simulation platform and method, relates to the technical field of computer simulation, and can meet accurate simulation requirements under the condition of a large-scale wireless network. The platform comprises a physical node, a virtual node, a radio frequency channel simulator and a link channel simulator. The physical node comprises a first container server and a software radio platform, and the first container server deploys a non-real-time part; deploying a real-time part by the software radio platform; and the container server is connected with the software radio platform through a network port. The virtual node comprises a second container server and a software radio baseband processing board, and the second container server deploys a non-real-time part; the software radio baseband processing board deploys a real-time part, and the container server is connected with the software radio baseband processing board through a network port. The physical nodes are interconnected through the radio frequency channel simulator, the virtual nodes are interconnected through the link channel simulator, and the virtual nodes and the physical nodes are interconnected through the container network.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of computer simulation, and in particular to a virtual-real combined communication network semi-physical simulation platform and method. Background Art

[0002] In recent years, the continuous development of wireless communications has spawned a variety of new network architectures, along with key technologies such as discovery, access, transmission, networking, and control, which have combined to form various information system models. To determine whether the system's various capabilities meet expectations, a matching experimental testing environment is required.

[0003] A hardware-in-the-loop simulation platform is a simulation system that integrates virtual simulation with actual hardware. It combines real hardware with a virtual environment to run simulation tasks. The virtual environment simulates real-world behavior, while the real hardware interacts with the virtual environment in real time.

[0004] For large-scale wireless network simulation, the current methods used are: 1. Virtual environment-based simulation, but due to the significant simplifications in the simulation model, simulation accuracy is difficult to guarantee; 2. Physical simulation, for large-scale simulation environments, is costly to test. Summary of the Invention

[0005] In view of this, the present invention provides a communication network semi-physical simulation platform and method that combines virtual and real elements, which can meet the precise simulation requirements in large-scale wireless network situations.

[0006] To achieve the above-mentioned purpose, the technical solution of the present invention is: a semi-physical simulation platform for a communication network that combines virtual and real elements, including physical nodes, virtual nodes, a radio frequency channel simulator, and a link channel simulator.

[0007] The physical node includes a first container server and a software radio platform, wherein the first container server deploys the non-real-time part, including the waveform network layer; the software radio platform deploys the real-time part, including the waveform MAC, PHY and radio frequency; the container server and the software radio platform are connected through a network port.

[0008] The virtual node includes a second container server and a software radio baseband processing board. The second container server deploys a non-real-time part, including a network layer; the software radio baseband processing board deploys a real-time part, including a waveform MAC layer. The container server and the software radio baseband processing board are connected through a network port.

[0009] Physical nodes are interconnected through a radio frequency channel simulator, virtual nodes are interconnected through a link channel simulator, and virtual nodes and physical nodes are interconnected through a container network.

[0010] Furthermore, the radio frequency channel simulator is used to receive the radio frequency signal sent by the physical node transmitting end, and output the radio frequency signal to the physical node receiving end after simulation calculation.

[0011] Furthermore, the RF channel simulator includes a RF channel module and a channel simulation matrix calculation module. The RF channel module is used to receive RF signals sent by physical nodes, or send RF signals to physical nodes; the channel simulation matrix calculation module is used to receive digital baseband signals sent by the RF channel module, and perform real-time calculations on multiple parallel digital baseband signals to realize the simulation of signal propagation effects and signal interactions in real physical space.

[0012] The link channel simulator receives the MAC frame sent by the virtual node transmitter. After simulation calculation, the link channel simulator sends the MAC frame to the virtual node receiver.

[0013] Furthermore, the link channel simulator is deployed in the software radio baseband processing board, which is responsible for intercommunication with the waveform MAC layer and simulating the transmission of MAC frames. It calculates the SNR and maps the SNR to the FER according to the MCS, and decides whether to forward the MAC frame to the receiving virtual node or discard it.

[0014] Another embodiment of the present invention further provides a method for semi-physical simulation of a communication network that combines virtual and real elements. Simulation is performed based on the aforementioned semi-physical simulation platform for a communication network that combines virtual and real elements. When the simulation starts, the waveform file is loaded into all physical nodes and virtual nodes:

[0015] The specific process of sending data stream from physical node to physical node is as follows: (1) data stream is input into the physical node through the network port; (2) the physical node sends the RF signal to the RF channel simulator; (3) the RF channel simulator outputs the RF signal to the physical node.

[0016] The specific process of sending data streams from virtual nodes to virtual nodes is as follows: (1) the data stream enters the virtual node through the network port; (2) the virtual node sends the MAC frame to the link channel simulator; (3) after the link channel simulator simulates, if it determines that the transmission is successful, it sends the MAC frame to the virtual node.

[0017] The process of sending data stream from the physical node to the virtual node is as follows: it includes two physical nodes SW1 and SW2, and two virtual nodes XN1 and XN2; the physical node SW2 and the virtual node XN1 constitute a gateway node, and the process of the physical node SW1 sending data to the virtual node XN2 is as follows: (1) The data stream is input into the physical node SW1 through the network port; (2) The physical node SW1 sends the RF signal to the RF channel simulator; (3) After the RF channel simulator performs simulation, the RF signal is output to the software radio platform of the physical node SW2; (4) The software radio platform of the physical node SW2 sends data to the software radio baseband processing board of the virtual node XN1 through the internal network; (5) The software radio baseband processing board of the virtual node XN1 sends the MAC frame to the link channel simulator; (6) The link channel simulator sends the simulated MAC frame to the virtual node XN2.

[0018] The process of sending data flow from virtual node to physical node is as follows: including two physical nodes SW1 and SW2, and two virtual nodes XN1 and XN2; physical node SW2 and virtual node XN1 form a gateway node, physical node SW2 and virtual node XN1 form a gateway node, and the process of virtual node XN2 sending data to physical node SW1 is as follows: (1) Data flow enters virtual node XN2 through the network port; (2) virtual node XN2 sends MAC frame to link channel simulator; (3) After simulation, link channel simulator sends MAC frame to software radio baseband processing board of virtual node XN1; (4) software radio baseband processing board of virtual node XN1 sends data to software radio platform of physical node SW2 through internal network; (5) software radio platform of physical node SW2 sends RF data to RF channel simulator; (6) RF channel simulator sends RF data to physical node SW1.

[0019] Beneficial effects:

[0020] 1: The present invention provides a combinable virtual-real communication network semi-physical simulation platform with large-scale network simulation capabilities. It not only ensures the accuracy of simulation tests, but also has good scalability and can realize network simulation tests in various scenarios.

[0021] 2: The present invention provides a combinable virtual-real semi-physical simulation method for a communication network, wherein a standard soft-no platform and a soft-no baseband platform can be flexibly configured according to simulation requirements for simulation testing. When the standard soft-no platform is configured, a simulation that is exactly the same as the physical state can be performed, and a channel simulator can be used to simulate completely real external radio frequency conditions. When the soft-no baseband platform is configured, communication simulation other than radio frequency conditions can be performed. The simulation accuracy is greatly improved compared to traditional network simulation software. The simulation based on the soft-no baseband board can simulate the real conditions of the link layer and the physical layer. According to the authenticity requirements and verification conditions, the standard soft-no platform and the soft-no baseband platform can be flexibly configured on this platform to realize simulation research with different requirements. It has stronger adaptability and higher accuracy than the simulation of traditional pure computer platforms. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0022] Figure 1 Schematic diagram of a wireless network simulation platform of the present invention;

[0023] Figure 2 A connection diagram of the container server of the present invention;

[0024] Figure 3 A connection diagram of the software radio baseband processing board of the present invention;

[0025] Figure 4 A connection diagram of a link channel simulator of the present invention;

[0026] Figure 5 This is a data flow diagram sent from a physical node to a physical node of the present invention;

[0027] Figure 6 A data flow diagram of data sent from a virtual node to a virtual node according to the present invention;

[0028] Figure 7 This is a data flow diagram sent from a physical node to a virtual node of the present invention;

[0029] Figure 8 This is a data flow diagram sent from a virtual node to a physical node in the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0030] The present invention is described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments.

[0031] like Figure 1 As shown, a virtual-real communication network semi-physical simulation platform includes: physical nodes, virtual nodes, radio frequency channel simulators and link channel simulators;

[0032] The physical node includes a first container server and a software radio platform. The first container server deploys a non-real-time part, which includes the network layer routing protocol of the waveform network layer, and the transport layer TCP and UDP protocols. The software radio platform deploys a real-time part, which includes the radio frequency front end, the physical layer protocol, and the link layer protocol. The first container server is connected to the software radio platform through a network port. The first container server and the software radio platform form a complete radio node form, including all layers. The connection relationship diagram of the first container server is shown in the figure below. Figure 2 shown.

[0033] The virtual node includes a second container server and a software radio baseband processing board, wherein the second container server deploys non-real-time parts such as the network layer, which is the same as the first container server in the physical node, including the network layer routing protocol, the transport layer TCP and UDP protocols. The difference is that the one connected to the software radio node and capable of RF transmission and reception is a physical node, while the one connected to the software radio baseband processing board is a virtual node. The software radio baseband processing board deploys real-time parts such as the waveform MAC layer, and the software radio baseband processing board includes the physical layer protocol and the link layer protocol. The second container server is connected to the software radio baseband processing board through a network port. The second container server and the software radio baseband processing board form a simulated radio node form that lacks an RF front end, which is connected to the link simulator to complete the simulation work. The connection relationship diagram of the software radio baseband processing board is shown as follows Figure 3 shown.

[0034] The channel simulator includes RF channel simulation and link channel simulation. Physical nodes are interconnected through the RF channel simulator, virtual nodes are interconnected through the link channel simulator, and virtual nodes and physical nodes are interconnected through the container network to achieve virtual and real data interconnection at the IP level. The physical node realizes the function of virtual and real node gateway.

[0035] The RF channel simulator is used to receive the RF signal sent by the physical node transmitter, and output the RF signal to the physical node receiver after real-time simulation calculation.

[0036] The RF channel simulator includes an RF channel module and a channel simulation matrix calculation module. The RF channel module is used to receive and transmit RF signals sent and received by physical nodes. The channel simulation matrix calculation module is used to receive digital baseband signals sent by the RF channel module, perform real-time calculations on multiple parallel digital baseband signals, and convolve the baseband signal with the impulse response simulated by the channel. The impulse response is obtained from the channel simulation matrix. The resulting convolved signal is the distorted signal of the RF signal after propagation in space. This process simulates the propagation effects and signal interactions of signals in real physical space. The channel impulse response is shown below:

[0037]

[0038] t and τ represent time and delay respectively; N represents the number of taps; δ(·) is the unit impulse function, also known as the Dirac delta function; τ j is the delay value of the jth tap; c j (t) is the complex amplitude, which is a function of t.

[0039] The link channel simulator receives the MAC frame sent by the virtual node transmitter. After simulating the transmission process, the link channel simulator sends the MAC frame to the virtual node receiver.

[0040] Since the constructed virtual node communication protocol stack is incomplete, in order to truly simulate the transmission of virtual nodes in space, a link simulator is needed to realize the transmission simulation between virtual nodes. The link channel simulator realizes the MAC frame distortion in the actual environment during the simulation of inter-node communication in the platform. After receiving the MAC frame and waveform parameters, the link channel simulator first obtains the relevant parameters of the MAC frame according to the waveform parameters, including the position of the transmitter and receiver, the transmission power, the bandwidth and other information. Then the link channel calculation module calculates the channel bit error rate according to the parameters. Then the link channel simulator applies the bit error effect to the MAC frame according to the bit error rate value, randomly drops the MAC frame, and then sends it to another virtual node, thereby simulating the MAC frame distortion in wireless transmission. The connection relationship diagram of the link channel simulator is shown in the figure. Figure 4 shown.

[0041] The link channel simulator is deployed in the software radio baseband processing board. It is responsible for intercommunication with the waveform MAC layer and simulating the transmission of MAC frames. It calculates the SNR and maps the SNR to the FER based on the MCS to decide whether to forward the MAC frame to the receiving virtual node or discard it.

[0042] When the simulation starts, the waveform file is loaded into all physical and virtual nodes:

[0043] The process of data flow being sent from physical node to physical node is as follows: Figure 5 As shown in FIG, the data flow through the physical node is as follows: (1) the data flow is input into the physical node through the network port; (2) the physical node sends the RF signal to the RF channel simulator; (3) the RF channel simulator outputs the RF signal to the physical node.

[0044] The process of sending data flow from virtual node to virtual node is as follows Figure 6As shown in Figure 1, the data flow through the virtual node process is as follows: (1) The data flow enters the virtual node through the network port; (2) The virtual node sends the MAC frame to the link channel simulator; (3) After the link channel simulator simulates, if it determines that the transmission is successful, the MAC frame is sent to the virtual node.

[0045] The process of data flow from physical node to virtual node is as follows: Figure 7 As shown in FIG, the physical node SW2 and the virtual node XN1 form a gateway node. The process of the physical node SW1 sending data to the virtual node XN2 is as follows: (1) The data stream is input into the physical node SW1 through the network port; (2) The physical node SW1 sends the RF signal to the RF channel simulator; (3) After the RF channel simulator performs simulation, the RF signal is output to the software radio platform of the physical node SW2; (4) The software radio platform of the physical node SW2 sends the data to the software radio baseband processing board of the virtual node XN1 through the internal network; (5) The software radio baseband processing board of the virtual node XN1 sends the MAC frame to the link channel simulator; (6) The link channel simulator sends the simulated MAC frame to the virtual node XN2.

[0046] The process of sending data flow from virtual node to physical node is as follows: Figure 8 As shown in FIG, the physical node SW2 and the virtual node XN1 form a gateway node. The process of virtual node XN2 sending data to the physical node SW1 is as follows: (1) The data stream enters the virtual node XN2 through the network port; (2) the virtual node XN2 sends the MAC frame to the link channel simulator; (3) after the link channel simulator is simulated, the MAC frame is sent to the software radio baseband processing board of the virtual node XN1; (4) the software radio baseband processing board of the virtual node XN1 sends the data to the software radio platform of the physical node SW2 through the internal network; (5) the software radio platform of the physical node SW2 sends the RF data to the RF channel simulator; (6) the RF channel simulator sends the RF data to the physical node SW1.

[0047] This method provides a combinable virtual-real communication network semi-physical simulation platform, wherein the standard soft-free platform and the soft-free baseband platform can be flexibly configured according to the simulation requirements for simulation testing. When the standard soft-free platform is configured, a simulation that is exactly the same as the physical state can be performed, and a channel simulator can be used to simulate completely real field radio frequency conditions. When the soft-free baseband platform is configured, communication simulation other than radio frequency conditions can be performed. Its simulation accuracy is greatly improved compared to traditional network simulation software. The simulation based on the soft-free baseband board can simulate the real conditions of the link layer and the physical layer. According to the authenticity requirements and verification conditions, the standard soft-free platform and the soft-free baseband platform can be flexibly configured on this platform to realize simulation research with different requirements. It has stronger adaptability and higher accuracy than the simulation of traditional pure computer platforms.

[0048] In summary, the above are only preferred embodiments of the present invention and are not intended to limit the scope of protection of the present invention. Any modifications, equivalent replacements, improvements, etc. made within the spirit and principles of the present invention should be included in the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. A virtual-real communication network semi-physical simulation platform, characterized by: include: Physical nodes, virtual nodes, RF channel simulators, and link channel simulators; The physical node includes a first container server and a software radio platform, wherein the first container server deploys a non-real-time part, including a waveform network layer; the software radio platform deploys a real-time part, including a waveform MAC, PHY, and radio frequency; the container server and the software radio platform are connected via a network port; The virtual node includes a second container server and a software radio baseband processing board, wherein the second container server deploys a non-real-time part, including a network layer; the software radio baseband processing board deploys a real-time part, including a waveform MAC layer, and the container server and the software radio baseband processing board are connected via a network port; Physical nodes are interconnected through a radio frequency channel simulator, virtual nodes are interconnected through a link channel simulator, and virtual nodes and physical nodes are interconnected through a container network.

2. A virtual-real communication network semi-physical simulation platform according to claim 1, characterized in that: The radio frequency channel simulator is used to receive the radio frequency signal sent by the physical node transmitting end, and output the radio frequency signal to the physical node receiving end after simulation calculation.

3. The virtual-real communication network hardware-in-the-loop simulation platform according to claim 1, characterized in that: The RF channel simulator includes a RF channel module and a channel simulation matrix calculation module. The RF channel module is used to receive RF signals sent by physical nodes or send RF signals to physical nodes. The channel simulation matrix calculation module is used to receive digital baseband signals sent by the RF channel module and perform real-time calculations on multiple parallel digital baseband signals to simulate signal propagation effects and signal interactions in real physical space. The link channel simulator receives the MAC frame sent by the virtual node sending end, and after simulation calculation, the link channel simulator sends the MAC frame to the virtual node receiving end.

4. The virtual-real communication network semi-physical simulation platform according to claim 1, characterized in that: The link channel simulator is deployed in the software radio baseband processing board and is responsible for intercommunication with the waveform MAC layer and MAC frame simulation transmission. It calculates the SNR and maps the SNR to the FER according to the MCS to decide whether to forward the MAC frame to the receiving virtual node or discard it.

5. A virtual-real combination communication network semi-physical simulation method, characterized in that: Based on the communication network semi-physical simulation platform combining virtual and real as described in claims 1 to 4, simulation is performed. When the simulation starts, the waveform file is loaded into all physical nodes and virtual nodes: The specific process of data flow from physical node to physical node is as follows: (1) data flow is input into the physical node through the network port; (2) the physical node sends the RF signal to the RF channel simulator; (3) the RF channel simulator outputs the RF signal to the physical node; The specific process of data flow being sent from virtual node to virtual node is as follows: (1) data flow is input into the virtual node through the network port; (2) the virtual node sends the MAC frame to the link channel simulator; (3) after the link channel simulator simulates, if it determines that the transmission is successful, it sends the MAC frame to the virtual node; The specific process of sending data flow from the physical node to the virtual node is as follows: it includes two physical nodes SW1 and SW2, and two virtual nodes XN1 and XN2; the physical node SW2 and the virtual node XN1 form a gateway node, and the process of the physical node SW1 sending data to the virtual node XN2 is as follows: (1) The data flow is input into the physical node SW1 through the network port; (2) The physical node SW1 sends the RF signal to the RF channel simulator; (3) After the RF channel simulator performs simulation, the RF signal is output to the software radio platform of the physical node SW2; (4) The software radio platform of the physical node SW2 sends data to the software radio baseband processing board of the virtual node XN1 through the internal network; (5) The software radio baseband processing board of the virtual node XN1 sends the MAC frame to the link channel simulator; (6) The link channel simulator sends the simulated MAC frame to the virtual node XN2; The process of sending data flow from the virtual node to the physical node is as follows: it includes two physical nodes SW1 and SW2, and two virtual nodes XN1 and XN2; the physical node SW2 and the virtual node XN1 form a gateway node, and the physical node SW2 and the virtual node XN1 form a gateway node. The process of virtual node XN2 sending data to the physical node SW1 is as follows: (1) The data flow enters the virtual node XN2 through the network port; (2) The virtual node XN2 sends the MAC frame to the link channel simulator; (3) After simulation, the link channel simulator sends the MAC frame to the software radio baseband processing board of the virtual node XN1; (4) The software radio baseband processing board of the virtual node XN1 sends data to the software radio platform of the physical node SW2 through the internal network; (5) The software radio platform of the physical node SW2 sends the RF data to the RF channel simulator; (6) The RF channel simulator sends the RF data to the physical node SW1.

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