ZIGBEE OPNET Modeller: An Efficient Performance Analyzer for Wireless Sensor Networks

A sensor network is a special type of network. The unique characteristics of Wireless Sensor Networks separate them from the legacy communication networks. Most of the WSN’s routing protocols are easy and straightforward & because of this reason they are vulnerable to attacks. The Distributed Denial of Service attack is considered particularly as it targets the energy efficient protocols that are unique to wireless sensor networks. So we start by considering such characteristics of the network and giving their impact on the security of the network. The Zigbee model provided in OPNET 16 is suitable for modelling WSNs. The main objective of this paper is to evaluate the impact of DDoS attacks on the performances of Wireless Sensor Networks by using the OPNET modeller. The effects of DDoS attacks on the performance of WSNs are considered to critically analyse these issues. The result presented in this paper can be of great help for optimization studies in Wireless Sensor Network environments under DDoS attacks.