C-NEDAT: A cognitive network engineering design analytic toolset for MANETs

Future force networks of the types envisioned for the network centric warfare (NCW) paradigm will be highly diverse, with the diversity spanning a wide range of (a) requirements (e.g., need for capacity, connectivity, survivability), (b) resources (e.g., radios with widely different capabilities and `smart´ (e.g., Software Defined Radios (SDRs)), and (c) environments (e.g., urban, rural). The need to facilitate robust and adaptable communications in such networks has in turn triggered research in the area of cognitive networks that have the ability to `learn´ and generate real-time control actions to adapt to the wide diversity of requirements, resources and environments. However, the combination of diversity and “smart” networking exacerbates the problem of generating reliable and robust network designs. We present in this paper, our work on the use of cognitive mechanisms to assist with the design and analysis of robust NCW-like networks. Based on formal network-science based approaches, our Cognitive Network Engineering Design Analytic Toolset (C-NEDAT) provides for a systematic way to design, analyze and maintain robustness of future force MANETs. We provide in this paper an overview of the key functional modules and design capabilities of C-NEDAT and present example results.