# A Survey on Parameters Affecting MANET Performance
## 3 Simulation in MANETs
### Simulation and Attack Parameters  
Researchers need to understand the different parameters used to control the MANET simulation environment, as well as the parameters that affect the network's behavior under attack. The list of simulation and attack parameters is described as follows:  
* Maximum simulation time (s): While running any simulator, a simulation time parameter is set to stop the simulation after this timeout is reached [41]; for more accurate results it is preferred to increase the simulation time. * Medium packet rate (packet/s): To avoid interference and packet loss between nodes due to the wireless medium limitation, a packet rate ratio should be pre-set between all MANET nodes. This parameter depends on the road capacity (number of nodes/mile), the available frequency used for packet transfer, and the used wireless protocol (ex. IEEE 802.11) [42]. * Mobility speed of nodes (m/s): MANET nodes do not have a fixed location, which means that they are moving from one place to another at varying speeds. The speed of nodes affects the result of the simulation. * Nodes' mobility movement pattern: The mobility pattern of mobile nodes in a MANET comprises one of the following patterns: (1) random way mobility, (2) linear mobility in a straight line, (3) circle mobility, and (4) stationary mobility for fixed nodes across the network. * Number of intermediate nodes: Increasing the number of intermediate nodes that forward packets between source nodes and destination decreases the routing protocol performance. * Number of source nodes: In MANETs, source nodes initiate packet transmission procedures; increasing the number of source nodes in MANET will overload the channel with more packets overhead. * Number of malicious nodes: Increasing the number of malicious nodes in MANETs decreases overall network performance. * Position of intermediate nodes: The position of intermediate nodes inside MANETs affects the performance. As the number of intermediate nodes between the source node and the destination node increases, network performance increases. * Position of malicious nodes: Attackers tend to take a good physical position between source and destination nodes to be able to perform the planned attack and drop the network packets. * Data packet payload (byte/packet): Data packet payload is the percentage of real data bytes (excluding the control and header data bytes) divided by the overall packet size in bytes. The data packet payload is an indication of the actual gain from packet transmission. * Simulation area: Simulates the MANETs' network coverage area in m\({}^{2}\). The simulation area reflects on the density of nodes inside the network, which impacts the routing protocol mechanisms. * Antenna type: The following are the antenna types and properties used for wireless communication: (1) the isotropic antenna transmits equal signal power in all directions; (2) the omnidirectional antenna transmits equal power in all horizontal directions, decreasing to zero along the vertical axis; and (3) the directional antenna transmits only in one direction at a specified angle. * Transportation protocol type: Transport protocol is based on two types: (1) the TCP protocol is a connection-oriented protocol that requires a connection establishment between the sender and the receiver first before sending data packets. This leads to a more secure and guaranteed delivery of data packets. On the other hand, the TCP protocol slows down packet delivery due to the needed overhead of handshaking. (2) UDP is a connectionless protocol that needs no connection establishment, which is faster but less reliable for packet delivery. * Transmission power: Each node needs to configure the transmission power that defines the range that this node could reach in one hop. Increasing transmission power leads to more coverage, but also means more energy consumption and quick battery drain.