XMLAssisted Combined Simulation Using NETWARS and NSS

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XML-Assisted Combined Simulation Using NETWARS
and NSS

• SPAWAR SYSTEMS CENTER SAN DIEGO (SSC SD)
• NETWORK CENTRIC WARFARE ANALYSIS BRANCH
• Chris Alspaugh, Tom Hepner, Cam Tran Ph.D.,
  Wonita Youm, and
• Albert Legaspi Ph.D.
• METRON, INC SIMULATION SCIENCES DIVISION
• Jeffrey Monroe, Jonah Sonnenshein, Jason
  Ocheltree, and
• William Stevens, Ph.D.

2004 Fall Simulation Interoperability Workshop
19-24 SEP 2004, Orlando, FL
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Outline

• Background
• NETWARS
• Naval Simulation System (NSS)
• NSS-NETWARS Combined Simulation
• Lessons Learned
• Conclusion

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Network Warfare Simulation (NETWARS)

• Simulation tool endorsed by the Military
  Communications - Electronics Board (MCEB) as the
  Joint Services communications MS tool of choice
• Designed to extend MS capability to
• Conduct communications burden analysis at the
  JTF level (and below)
• Perform rapid capacity planning
• Evaluate impact of emerging technologies on
  battlefield communications

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NETWARS (continued)

• Providing a common, validated simulation
  capability
• User Interface, Joint Model Architecture,
  Device, Protocol, and Traffic Model Libraries.
• Use of both OPNET COTS Models (Standard Models
  bundled with OPNET Products) and Military-Unique
  Communications Models.

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NETWARS System Architecture
Device Model Library
Scenario Builder
Simulation Domain
Execute Discrete-Event Simulation

• Set Device Parameters (Configure Models)
• Create OPFACS
• Build Organizations
• Define Comm Requirements
• Perform Collaborative Planning
• Build Scenario

Analysis Tools
Create Comm Models
Capacity Planner
Analyze link utilization and demand priorities
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Hierarchical Model Development
Deployment Models (e.g. STENNIS BG)
Organization Models (e.g. USS Lake Champlain)
OPFAC Models (e.g. ISNS)
Device Models (e.g. CISCO 7500 router)
Function and Process models (e.g. Ethernet)
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Outline

• Background
• NETWARS
• Naval Simulation System (NSS)
• NSS-NETWARS Combined Simulation
• Lessons Learned
• Conclusion

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Naval Simulation System (NSS)

• NSS is a Discrete-Event MS Tool Originally
  Developed By SPAWAR PD-15 and Metron, Inc. for
  CNO N6M.
• NSS Has Been Used for Naval Operations Support
  Including Plan Development, Evaluation,
  Refinement and Execution.
• NSS Has Been Deployed In Numerous Navy Exercises,
  Including Fleet Exercises, Fleet Battle
  Experiments (FBEs), and Wargames.

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NSS (cont.)

• NSS Offers Low-to-Medium Fidelity Warfare Entity
  Model.
• Communications Models in NSS Are Not Well
  Developed.
• Only three High-Resolution Models Link-11,
  Link-16, and TRAP/TRE.
• They Were Modeled in 1994.

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Outline

• Background
• NETWARS
• Naval Simulation System (NSS)
• NSS-NETWARS Combined Simulation
• Lessons Learned
• Conclusion

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Motivation

• The Main Motivation for a NETWARS-NSS Combined
  Simulation is to Conduct a Campaign-Level MS
  Study to Support PR-07 Budget Analysis.
• This effort Requires a Simplified TCP/IP Model
  Developed for NSS With Three Attributes
• Link Throughput
• IP Packet Roundtrip Times
• IP Packet Loss Probabilities

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NSS-NETWARS Information Flow
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NSS-NETWARS Information Flow (contd)

• An Operational Scenario is Constructed using NSS
  GUI.
• NSS Exports an XML database Containing info that
  NETWARS Will Need to execute high-fdelity
  communications simulation runs.
• Network Latencies Tping are produced by NETWARS.
  In Addition, Background Loading (BL) Info Is
  Obtained via Live-Exercise Data Using Regression
  Analysis.
• Tping and BL Data Are Added to the XML Database
  and Imported Back to NSS As High-Fidelity
  Communications Inputs.

• NSS Executes the Scenario
• NSS Outputs a Set of MOEs and MOPs that Describe
  the Warfighting Results for the Operational
  Scenario.
• Based on the Results of the Scenario Runs,
  Excursions Are Defined Including CONOPS, System
  and Platform Changes. For this Project, Info
  Operations (IO) Excursions Will Be Defined, and
  NETWARS Will Compute New Tping and BL Values that
  Take Into Account the IO Environment Defined in
  the Excursion.

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Model Tping in NETWARS
Tping represents the time it takes for an IP
segment to traverse the network connecting a
source and a destination platform
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Generalization NETWARS Data to Warfare
Simulations
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Generalization High-Resolution Data to NSS
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Outline

• Background
• NETWARS
• Naval Simulation System (NSS)
• NSS-NETWARS Combined Simulation
• Lessons Learned
• Conclusion

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Fundamental Issues

• Data From NETWARS to Feed to NSS are Averaged
  Data. Therefore, Statistics Produced by NSS in
  the Combined NSS-NETWARS Simulation Are Functions
  of Averaged Values of Attributes, Not the Values
  of Attributes.
• The Combined NSS-NETWARS Simulation Is an Offline
  Co-Simulation, and Thus Does Not Account for
  Dynamic Interactions Among Entities Commonly
  Occurred in Online Simulation (Federation).

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Pre-Processing Studies

• The Disadvantage of the Combined NSS-NETWARS
  Simulation Is the Amount of Pre-Simulation That
  Must Be Conducted.
• For Example, This Study Included 30 Platform
  Types. Assessing Communications Performance
  Between Each Source and Destination Platform
  Would Require 900 Simulations. Next, Assessing
  Performance Under 2 Network Congestion Levels
  Would Double the Number of Simulations to 1800.
  Finally, Adding 3 QoS Levels Would Triple the
  Number of Simulations to 5400.

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Pre-Processing Studies (contd)

• To Reduce the Number of Pre-Processing Studies,
  Generic System Representation of Specific
  Platforms Were Used.
• For Example, the CG and the DDG Have Identical
  Communications System Architecture (With Respect
  To the Systems Assessed). Creating Generic Model
  To Represent Both Platforms Reduces the Number of
  Required Simulation Runs.

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Tracking Communications Conditions in NSS

• NSS Is Not Primarily a Communications Simulator
  and Is Limited in Its Capacity To Monitor All
  Communications-Related Environment Conditions.
• For Example, NSS Is Not Able To Perform Realtime
  Mapping of Application-Level Traffic Types (e.g.,
  FTP, E-mail, Video Conference) to the Appropriate
  Transport Protocols (UDP, TCP) or QoS Level.

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Online and Offline Co-Simulations

• Both Online and Offline Co-Simulation Approaches
  Have Their Uses. It is anticipated
• Offline Approach For Large Scenarios Where the
  Average Value Communications Provide Sufficient
  Fidelity
• Online Approach For Smaller Scenarios Where
  Communications Fidelity Is Important and the
  Increase in Runtimes Can Be Tolerated.

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Outline

• Background
• NETWARS
• Naval Simulation System (NSS)
• NSS-NETWARS Combined Simulation
• Lessons Learned
• Conclusion

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Conclusion

• Navys Investigations into Combining
  High-Fidelity Operational and Communications
  Simulators Have Been Largely Successful.
• Using NSS and NETWARS, Studies Have Been
  Conducted to Assess the Comparative Accuracy and
  Efficiency of Online and Offline Co-Simulation.
• The Simulation/Integration Team Has Met the
  Challenge of Identifying the XML-Assisted Data
  Import For NSS and the NETWARS Pre-Simulation
  Parametric Studies to Support the Offline
  Co-Simulation Objectives.