Abstract. As wireless networks become a critical part of home, business and industrial infrastructure, researchers will meet these demands by providing new networking technologies. However, these technologies must be tested before they can be released for mainstream use. We identify the key design considerations for a wireless networking testbed as a) accuracy b) controllability c) mobility d) repeatability e) cost effectiveness f) data collection g) resource sharing h) multi-nodal capability i) scalability. In this paper we portray how we have used coaxial cables and our custom hardware of RF switches and programmable attenuators to create Advanced wireleSS Environment Research Testbed (assert), addressing the above requirements. assert supports various types of wireless devices, providing researchers in academia and industry with the necessary experimentation tools to validate their designed protocols and devices.

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Most researchers conduct wireless networking experiments in their laboratory or similar indoor environments. Such environments are veritable RF jungles, especially when we consider the ISM bands. In this paper we examine and test several common explicit and implicit assumptions that researchers tend to make about the wireless environment. Although these assumptions are acknowledged by most researchers, the extent of their impact is often underestimated. We find that because the environment is always in flux, it is almost impossible to reproduce the results of an experiment. Hence, there is a high risk of misinterpreting the data obtained from such experiments. Through this paper we try to caution experimenters against such risky assumptions when they venture into the RF jungle. After a successful proof-of-concept experiment, we advocate the use of wireless networking testbeds that provide experimenters better control over the RF environment by using coaxial cables, programmable attenuators and power dividers/combiners.

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