Estudio de prestaciones de un entorno de IoT mediante herramientas de simulación de software libre

ABSTRACT Internet of Things (IoT) networks are causing a paradigm shift in the way we understand the world. There is a huge amount of data captured by the small devices that make up their networks and that are usually processed in the cloud. This, in turn, is driving the development of new solutions with applications in many different fields, from healthcare to agriculture, through logistics and many more. Therefore, these technologies are applicable to all productive sectors. The networks that make up the IoT are composed mainly of wireless devices, meaning that the transmission medium is air. Radio communications are generally used. This represents a great challenge when trying to know how the preliminary design will behave in real operating conditions due to the heterogeneous environments where they are implemented, the spectrum saturation, and the fact that, generally, unlicensed bands are used for communication. As all technologies compete for the same resources, they must be very efficient in their use, adopting tools to combat the interference caused by the different networks and technologies that make use of these bands. In order to minimise this issue, simulators are used. Applying the appropriate parameters, it is possible to know how a network would respond in conditions which are close to reality. This, in turn, allows researchers to adopt solutions in the design phase, saving costs. This paper aims to survey the existing technologies, protocols and types of networks used in IoT deployments, explain the operation of one of the most used network simulators in research such as NS-3 and implement a specific solution, thus testing the simulator's performance in a real case study.