FLoRaSat

FLoRaSat (Framework for Layer-Oriented Resource-Aware Satellite Network) is an Omnet++ based discrete-event simulator to carry out end-to-end satellite IoT simulations based on LoRa and LoRaWAN adaptations for the space domain.

A general introduction to the topic is provided in [1]. A description of the early realease of FLoRaSat can be found in [2]. Part of the tool is being developed in the context of the STEREO ANR project.

• [1] Fraire, Juan A., et al. "Space-Terrestrial Integrated Internet of Things: Challenges and Opportunities." IEEE Communications Magazine (2022).

• [2] Fraire, Juan A., et al. "Simulating LoRa-Based Direct-to-Satellite IoT Networks with FLoRaSat." 2022 IEEE 23rd International Symposium on a World of Wireless, Mobile and Multimedia Networks (WoWMoM). IEEE, 2022.

• [3] Choquenaira-Florez, Alexander Y. et al. "FLoRaSat 2: Simulating Cross-Linked Direct-to-Satellite IoT LEO Constellations with Joint Access and Routing Evaluation." Wiley International Journal of Satellite Communications and Networking (2025).

The FLoRaSat simulator is based on an extended version of FLoRa, leosatellites, OS3, and INET integrated in a single Omnet++ framework to provide an accurate simulation model for space-terrestrial integrated IoT.

Please consider the the simulator is under active development, and it should not be considered a final stable (or documented) version at the moment. Please reach us at juan.fraire@inria.fr if interested in joining the developers team.

Currently, we support a single sample scenario comprising 16 satellites in a grid-like formation (realistic orbital parameters), passing over a circular region with up to 1500 nodes. However, some flexibility can already be leveraged based on the features listed below.

Features

(UD = Under Development, TD = To-do roadmap)

• Ground IoT Device

  • Platform
    • Energy model
    • Clock drift model (TD)
    • Localization model (TD)
  • PHY: LoRa
    • Free-Space channel model (from INET)
    • Antena models (from INET: omni, monopole, parabolic, etc.)
    • Sensitivity model
    • Doppler effect model (available, but not integrated TD)
    • Spreading Factors (configurable and fixed per node)
    • Capture effect (TD)
  • MAC: LoRaWAN
    • Class A (from FLoRa)
    • Class B (downlink beacon only, uplink TD)
    • Class C (TD)
    • Class S (time-slotted Class B extension, downlink beacon only, uplink TD)
    • FSA Frame-Slotted ALOHA Game (leveraging network size estimation)
    • ADR (TD)
  • MAC/PHY: LR-FHSS (UD)

• Satellite Gateway

  • Platform
    • Orbital propagation with SGP4 (LEO and GEO) (from leosatellites)
    • Orbital propagation with SDP4 (GEO) (TD)
    • Support for Keplerian orbital parameters
    • Support for TLE (UD)
    • Attitude control: Nadir-aligned
    • Constellation creation (Walker Star and Walker Delta)
    • EventModule (Scenario scripting, enable/disable ISL at given timestamps)
  • Inter-Satellite Link
    • Cabled (mimick P2P links)
    • Radio (UD, draft version available)
    • Topology control (UD)
    • Dynamic link creation/destruction
      • Constellation-based (constraints: ISL device status, satellite directions, is adjacent sat, latitude)
      • Contact Plan-based (read from topology file)
    • Dynamic link latency update
  • Routing
    • Generic routing interface (UD)
    • Packet queue and configurable processing delay
    • Mesh routing
      • DisCoRoute (UD by R. Ohs)
      • DDRA (UD by R. Ohs)
    • Delay-Tolerant routing
      • CGR based on Rev 17 from DtnSim (UD by S. Montoya)
      • Contact Plan generation (TD by S. Montoya)
      • Storage model (UD by S. Montoya)

• Ground Segment

  • Ground Station-to-Satellite Link
    • Cabled (mimick P2P links)
    • Radio (TD)
    • Topology control (UD)
      • Dynamic link creation/destruction
      • Constellation-based (constraints: min elevation)
      • Contact Plan-based (read from topology file)
    • Dynamic link latency update
  • Internet
    • From INET
  • Network Server
    • Lora/LoRaWAN Network server (from FLoRa)

Automatic Installation

The fresh_install.sh script in the root folder allows you to automatically install OMNeT++ 6.3.0 and FLoRaSat on a Linux machine (WSL or otherwise). It will also create a workspace folder inside OMNeT's directories, which should be selected as the default workspace when OMNeT is opened for the first time. Be aware that this will create an OMNeT++ installation in the current directory:

To run this script:

chmod +x fresh_install.sh
./fresh_install.sh
omnetpp

The last line launches the OMNeT++ GUI. Note that you will need to run source ~/omnetpp-6.3.0/setenv each time you want to start OMNeT++ from the terminal, or add this line to your .bashrc so you no longer have to do it manually.

Manual Installation

1. Install OpenSSL with sudo apt-get install libssl-dev

2. Install OMNeT++6.3.0. Tips:

   • Set the omnetpp environment permanently with echo '[ -f "$HOME/omnetpp-6.3.0/setenv" ] && source "$HOME/omnetpp-6.3.0/setenv"' >> ~/.profile

   • Remember to compile with make -j8 to take advantage of multiple processor cores

   • If ERROR: /home/diego/omnetpp-6.3.0/bin is not in the path!, add it by entering export PATH=$HOME/omnetpp-6.3.0/bin:$PATH

   • If ERROR: make: xdg-desktop-menu: No such file or directory do sudo apt install xdg-utils

3. Launch omnetpp from the terminal with omnetpp and choose a workspace for project (default is $HOME/omnetpp-6.3.0/samples)

4. Go to Help >> Install Simulation Models... menu and install INETv4.5.x in the workspace

5. Execute git clone https://gitlab.inria.fr/jfraire/florasat.git in the workspace

6. Add INETv4.3 to the environment by executing florasat/setinet.sh passing the absolute path to the INET root directory, eg. sh setinet.sh $HOME/omnetpp-6.3.0/samples/inet4.5

7. In omnetpp go to File >> Open Projects from File System and add florasat project to the workspace. If this is not working, you can do File >> Import... >> General >> Projects from Folder or Archive

8. Right-click florasat project and go to Properties, under Project References select inet4.5 (only)

9. Finally, right-click florasat and Build Project

10. If you have files that are considered by Git as modified when they are not, execute git config core.filemode false in the local repository.

Execution of experiments in FLoRaSat

They ini files are saved are saved in: '/simulations/routing'

The Ini files used in the article are:

• Regular-Iridium.ini
• Failure-StarLink.ini

Execution FLoRaSat-CLI

Use the help command to view a description of the necessary parameters for each command.

• Install florasatcli from Source. Ensure that florasatcli is installed from the source code before proceeding.

• Set Up the Configuration File: Initialize the configuration file using the following command:

  • 'florasat config init'

  This will generate a .toml file specifying the path where florasat simulation results will be stored and the number of simulation runs.

• Preprocess Routes and Satellites: Before generating statistics, preprocess the satellites and routes data using the following commands:

  • florasat statistics --cstl Iridium --name Regular --algs DDRA Directed --run 1 --preprocess-satellites
  • florasat statistics --cstl Iridium --name Regular --algs DDRA Directed --run 1 --preprocess-routes

  Each parameter can be explored using the -h (help) option.

• Generate Statistics: Run the following command to execute the simulation and generate statistics:

  • florasat statistics --cstl Iridium --name Regular --algs DDRA Directed --run 1 --all