Video streaming over MANETs: Testing and analysis using real-time emulation

In this paper, we design and deploy a Mobile Ad hoc Network (MANET) testbed that is integrated with EXata-Cyber network emulator to evaluate the performance of real-time video streaming applications. EXata-Cyber can unvaryingly connect emulated networks (virtual networks created by EXata-Cyber) to real machines. Thus, in our testbed, real machines can exchange real-life applications traffic over emulated wireless networks consisting of virtual machines. With the emulation capabilities of EXata-Cyber, our developed testbed gives an efficient, high fidelity and accommodating testing terrain for analyzing the performances and behaviors of real-life applications, machines and MANET routing protocols. We evaluate the performance of both proactive and reactive routing protocols while transmitting real-time video traffic in terms of change in network load, network mobility and video streaming bit rate. Furthermore, to provide accurate measures for perceived video quality at users end in the form of Quality-of-Experience (QoE), we evaluate and analyze metrics such as Mean Opinion Score (MOS), Signal-to-Interference and Noise Ratio (SINR) and Packet Delivery Ratio (PDR) at various layers of TCP/IP protocol stack.