Part 3: Mininet-WiFi Command-Line Interface (CLI) Commands and Attributes

Display Options

To see the list of Command-Line Interface (CLI) options, start up a minimal topology and leave it running. Build the Mininet-WiFi:

$ sudo mn --wifi

Display the options:

mininet-wifi> help

Python Interpreter

If the first phrase on the Mininet-WiFi command line is py, then that command is executed with Python. This might be useful for extending Mininet-WiFi, as well as probing its inner workings. Each station, ao, and controller has an associated Node object.

At the Mininet CLI, run:

mininet-wifi> py 'hello ' + 'world'

Print the accessible local variables:

mininet-wifi> py locals()

Link Up/Down

For fault tolerance testing, it can be helpful to bring links up and down.

To disassociate sta1 from ap1 you can run:

mininet-wifi> link ap1 sta1 down

To bring the association back up:

mininet-wifi> link sta1 ap1 up

Forcing Association

You can force the association with an AP either by using iw tool:

mininet-wifi> sta1 iw dev sta1-wlan0 connect new-ssid

or by using the Mininet-WiFi’s API:

mininet-wifi> py sta1.setAssociation(ap1, intf='sta1-wlan0')

Setting Signal Range

You can set the Signal Range when the node is being created:

net.addStation(... range=10)

or at runtime:

mininet-wifi> py sta1.setRange(10, intf='sta1-wlan0')

and confirm the new value with:

mininet-wifi> py sta1.wintfs[0].range

Keep in mind that if the signal range changes, txpower will also change.

Setting Antenna Gain

You can set the Antenna Gain when the node is being created:

net.addStation(... antennaGain=10)

or at runtime:

mininet-wifi> py ap1.setAntennaGain(10, intf='ap1-wlan1')

and confirm the new value with:

mininet-wifi> py sta1.wintfs[0].antennaGain

Setting Tx Power

You can set the Tx Power either by iw tool (for txpower = 10):

mininet-wifi> sta1 iw dev sta1-wlan0 set txpower fixed 1000

or by using the Mininet-WiFi’s API:

net.addStation(... txpower=10)

as well as at runtime:

mininet-wifi> py ap1.setTxPower(10, intf='ap1-wlan1')

Confirming the new value:

mininet-wifi> py ap1.wintfs[0].txpower

Setting Channel

You can set the channel either by iw tool:

if the node is AP:

mininet-wifi> ap1 hostapd_cli -i ap1-wlan1 chan_switch 1 2412

if the node is working in mesh mode:

mininet-wifi> sta1 iw dev sta1-mp0 set channel 1

if the node is working in adhoc mode:

mininet-wifi> sta1 iw dev sta1-wlan0 ibss leave
mininet-wifi> sta1-wlan0 ibss join adhocNet 2412 02:CA:FF:EE:BA:01

or by using the Mininet-WiFi’s API:

mininet-wifi> py sta1.setChannel(1, intf='ap1-wlan1')

Confirming the new value:

mininet-wifi> py sta1.wintfs[0].channel

Renaming the Interface Name

You can rename the network interface name with:

sta1.setIntfName('newName', 0)

You can replace newName by any name and 0 by the id of the interface. For example: if the original interface is sta1-wlan0 the id should by 0 while sta1-wlan1 should be 1 and so on.

Showing and Hiding Nodes

You can hide the node with:

sta1.hide()

You can show the node again with:

sta1.show()

Setting Circle Color

You can set the signal range - circle - color with:

sta1.set_circle_color('r')  # for red color

Setting the Operation Mode

Master

sta1.setMasterMode(intf='sta1-wlan0', ssid='ap1-ssid', channel='1', mode='g')

Managed

ap1.setManagedMode(intf='ap1-wlan1')

Adhoc

sta1.setAdhocMode(intf='sta1-wlan0')

Mesh

sta1.setMeshMode(intf='sta1-wlan0')

Setting the Node Position

mininet-wifi> py sta1.setPosition('10,10,0') # x=10, y=10, z=0

Confirming the position:

mininet-wifi> py sta1.position

Shutting AP down

You can shutdown the AP with:

mininet-wifi> py ap1.stop_()

and bring it up again with:

mininet-wifi> py ap1.start_()

Stopping the Simulation

Considering that you have some simulation with mobility running you can stop it with:

mininet-wifi> stop

And run it again with:

mininet-wifi> start

XTerm Display

To display an xterm for sta1 and sta2:

mininet-wifi> xterm sta1 sta2