Testing network protocols via the DESERT underwater framework: The CommsNet'13 experience

In the context of a collaboration with the NATO STO Centre for Maritime Research and Experimentation (CMRE), during the CommsNet'13 campaign we deployed a large set of experiments aimed at measuring some network statistics for three protocols for remote data retrieval in underwater networks, namely Uw-Polling (a controlled access scheme), MSUN (a source routing approach with support for mobility) and U-Fetch (a scheme based on two hierarchical levels of controlled access). The main idea behind the trial was to perform some experiments in order to get a hands-on practical experience with the protocols, evaluate their performance in a systematic way, and observe which specific features of a real world experiment can alter the performance of the protocols, compared to a computer simulation. The results obtained help understand the protocols better and can be used to refine their design and improve their performance. The experiments are run thanks to the flexibility of the DESERT Underwater framework, and managed through a newly designed acoustic remote control framework called RECORDS.