Topology control in ad hoc wireless networks using cooperative communication

In this paper, we address the Topology control with Cooperative Communication (TCC) problem in ad hoc wireless networks. Cooperative communication is a novel model introduced recently that allows combining partial messages to decode a complete message. The objective of the TCC problem is to obtain a strongly-connected topology with minimum total energy consumption. We show that the TCC problem is NIP-complete and design two distributed and localized algorithms to be used by the nodes to set up their communication ranges. Both algorithms can be applied on top of any symmetric, strongly-connected topology to reduce total power consumption. The first algorithm uses a distributed decision process at each node that makes use of only 2-hop neighborhood information. The second algorithm sets up the transmission ranges of nodes iteratively, over a maximum of six steps, using only 1-hop neighborhood information. We analyze the performance of our approaches through extensive simulation.     

支持网络编码的认知无线自组网拓扑控制算法

对认知无线自组网中有限的带宽进行研究,提出支持网络编码的拓扑控制算法。算法分为3个阶段：初始拓扑构建阶段,利用最短路径算法为单播业务构建拓扑,利用基于网络编码的最短路径算法为多播业务构建K冗余拓扑;拓扑优化阶段,通过逐条删除满足一定条件的链路优化拓扑;拓扑恢复阶段,针对关键点失效,利用与失效链路不在同一路径簇且开销最小的链路恢复网络连通。仿真结果表明,算法能够提高无线资源复用率,增强网络抗毁性。     

自组网在军事无线通信中的应用

科技的不断进步使得军事信息现代化发展迅速,无线通信在现代化军事建设中起到关键作用,同时,为信息化战争的胜利奠定了一定的基础。由此可见,军事无线通信技术应当不断革新,争取在信息化战场上获取胜利。文章研究了自组网在军事无线通信中的应用,希望为其发展提供一定基础。     

Random power control in wireless ad hoc networks

In this letter, we present stochastic analysis of two power control schemes for wireless ad hoc networks: random-vs. fixed power controls. Using numerical examples, we show that randomizing transmit power has positive effect of reducing high interferences to the other nodes, and improves network connectivity, in high-density networks. However, the fixed power control is more favorable in low-density environments. In this letter, we derive a formula of such cross-over (density) point at which superiority of each power control is switched.     

Cross-layer congestion control in ad hoc wireless networks

The paper presents the problem of performance degradation of transport layer protocols due to congestion of wireless local area networks. Following the analysis of available solutions to this problem, a cross-layer congestion avoidance scheme (C³TCP) is presented, able to obtain higher performance by gathering capacity information such as bandwidth and delay at the link layer. The method requires the introduction of an additional module within the protocol stack of the mobile node, able to adjust the outgoing data stream based on capacity measurements. Moreover, a proposal to provide optional field support to existing IEEE 802.11 protocol, in order to support the presented congestion control solution as well as many other similar approaches, is presented. Achieved results underline good agreement with design considerations and high utilization of the available resources.     

A framework for post-disaster communication using wireless ad hoc networks

Disaster management system requires timely delivery of large volumes of accurate messages so that an appropriate decision can be made to minimize the severity. When a disaster strikes, most of the infrastructure for communication gets uprooted. As a result, communication gets hampered. A well designed Internet of things (IoT) can play a significant role in the post-disaster scenario to minimize the losses, and save the precious lives of animals and human beings. In this paper, we have proposed a framework for post-disaster communication using wireless ad hoc networks. The framework includes: (i) a multi-channel MAC protocol to improve the network throughput, (ii) an energy aware multi-path routing to overcome the higher energy depletion rate at nodes associated with single shortest path routing, and (iii) a distributed topology aware scheme to minimize the transmission power. Above proposals, taken together intend to increase the network throughput, reduce the end-to-end delay, and enhance the network lifetime of an ad hoc network deployed for disaster response. A multi-channel MAC protocol permits the transmission from hidden and exposed nodes without interfering with the on-going transmission. We have compared the proposed framework with an existing scheme called Distressnet [1]. Simulation results show that the proposed framework achieves higher throughput, lower end-to-end delay, and an increased network longevity.     

Multichannel medium access control for ad hoc wireless networks

In this paper, we study the multichannel exposed terminal problem in multihop wireless networks. We propose a multichannel medium access control (MAC) protocol, called multichannel MAC protocol with hopping reservation (MMAC‐HR), to resolve the multichannel exposed terminal problem. MMAC‐HR uses two radio interfaces; one interface is fixed over the control channel, and the other interface switches dynamically between data channels. The fixed interface supports broadcast information and reserves a data channel for any data transmission. The switchable interface, on other hand, is for data exchanges and follows independent slow hopping without requiring clock synchronization. In addition, the proposed protocol is a distributed one. By using the ns‐2 simulator, extensive simulations are performed to demonstrate that MMAC‐HR can enhance the network throughput and delay compared with existing multichannel MAC protocol. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Movement control algorithms for realization of fault-tolerant ad hoc robot networks

Autonomous and semi-autonomous mobile multirobot systems require a wireless communication network in order to communicate with each other and collaboratively accomplish a given task. A multihop communications network that is self-forming, self-healing, and self-organizing is ideally suited for such mobile robot systems that exist in unpredictable and constantly changing environments. However, since every node in a multihop (or ad hoc) network is responsible for forwarding packets to other nodes, the failure of a critical node can result in a network partition. Hence, it is ideal to have an ad hoc network configuration that can tolerate temporary failures while allowing recovery. Since movement of the robot nodes is controllable, it is possible to achieve such fault-tolerant configurations by moving a subset of robots to new locations. In this article we propose a few simple algorithms for achieving the baseline graph theoretic metric of tolerance to node failures, namely, biconnectivity. We formulate an optimization problem for the creation of a movement plan while minimizing the total distance moved by the robots. For one-dimensional networks, we show that the problem of achieving a biconnected network topology can be formulated as a linear program; the latter lends itself to an optimal polynomial time solution. For two-dimensional networks the problem is much harder, and we propose efficient heuristic approaches for achieving biconnectivity. We compare the performance of the proposed algorithms with each other with respect to the total distance moved metric using simulations.     

Joint scheduling and power control for wireless ad hoc networks

In this paper, we introduce a cross-layer design framework to the multiple access problem in contention-based wireless ad hoc networks. The motivation for this study is twofold, limiting multiuser interference to increase single-hop throughput and reducing power consumption to prolong battery life. We focus on next neighbor transmissions where nodes are required to send information packets to their respective receivers subject to a constraint on the signal-to-interference-and-noise ratio. The multiple access problem is solved via two alternating phases, namely scheduling and power control. The scheduling algorithm is essential to coordinate the transmissions of independent users in order to eliminate strong levels of interference (e.g., self-interference) that cannot be overcome by power control. On the other hand, power control is executed in a distributed fashion to determine the admissible power vector, if one exists, that can be used by the scheduled users to satisfy their single-hop transmission requirements. This is done for two types of networks, namely time-division multiple-access (TDMA) and TDMA/code-division multiple-access wireless ad hoc networks.     

Principles and protocols for power control in wireless ad hoc networks

Transmit power control is a prototypical example of a cross-layer design problem. The transmit power level affects signal quality and, thus, impacts the physical layer, determines the neighboring nodes that can hear the packet and, thus, the network layer affects interference which causes congestion and, thus, affects the transport layer. It is also key to several performance measures such as throughput, delay, and energy consumption. The challenge is to determine where in the architecture the power control problem is to be situated, to determine the appropriate power level by studying its impact on several performance issues, to provide a solution which deals properly with the multiple effects of transmit power control, and finally, to provide a software architecture for realizing the solution. We distill some basic principles on power control, which inform the subsequent design process. We then detail the design of a sequence of increasingly complex protocols, which address the multidimensional ramifications of the power control problem. Many of these protocols have been implemented, and may be the only implementations for power control in a real system. It is hoped that the approach in this paper may also be of use in other topical problems in cross-layer design.     

Capacity regions for wireless ad hoc networks

We define and study capacity regions for wireless ad hoc networks with an arbitrary number of nodes and topology. These regions describe the set of achievable rate combinations between all source-destination pairs in the network under various transmission strategies, such as variable-rate transmission, single-hop or multihop routing, power control, and successive interference cancellation (SIC). Multihop cellular networks and networks with energy constraints are studied as special cases. With slight modifications, the developed formulation can handle node mobility and time-varying flat-fading channels. Numerical results indicate that multihop routing, the ability for concurrent transmissions, and SIC significantly increase the capacity of ad hoc and multihop cellular networks. On the other hand, gains from power control are significant only when variable-rate transmission is not used. Also, time-varying flat-fading and node mobility actually improve the capacity. Finally, multihop routing greatly improves the performance of energy-constraint networks.     

MAC‐assisted topology control for ad hoc wireless networks

We consider ad hoc wireless networks and the topology control problem defined as minimizing the amount of power needed to maintain connectivity. The issue boils down to selecting the optimum transmission power level at each node based on the position information of reachable nodes. Local decisions regarding the transmission power level induce a subgraph of the maximum powered graph G_max in which edges represent direct reachability at maximum power. We propose a new algorithm for constructing minimum‐energy path‐preserving subgraphs of G_max, i.e. ones minimizing the energy consumption between node pairs. Our algorithm involves a modification to the medium access control (MAC) layer. Its superiority over previous solutions, up to 60% improvement in sparse networks, demonstrates once again that strict protocol layering in wireless networks tends to be detrimental to performance. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Distributed power control over multiple channels for ad hoc wireless networks

In this paper, we investigate the deficiency of uncontrolled asymmetrical transmission power over multiple channels in ad hoc environments. We further propose a novel distributed transmission power control protocol called the distributed power level (DPL) protocol for multi‐channel ad hoc networks without requiring clock synchronization. Specifically, different transmission power levels are assigned to different channels, and nodes search for an idle channel on the basis of the received power so that the maximum allowable power of the preferred data channel is larger than or equal to the received power. If the most preferred channel of the least maximum power is busy, the nodes are able to select the next channel and so forth. As a result, interference is reduced over channels because the nodes that require higher transmission power are separated from interfering with the nodes that require lower transmission power. Two transmission power control modes are introduced for DPL: symmetrical and asymmetrical. For the symmetrical DPL protocol (mode), nodes transmit at the same power level assigned to the selected channel. On the other hand, for the asymmetrical DPL protocol, nodes are allowed to transmit at a lower or equal power level that is assigned to the selected channel. Extensive ns‐2‐based simulation results are presented to demonstrate that the proposed protocols can enhance the network throughput compared with the existing uncontrolled asymmetrical transmission power protocol. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Routing security in wireless ad hoc networks

A mobile ad hoc network consists of a collection of wireless mobile nodes that are capable of communicating with each other without the use of a network infrastructure or any centralized administration. MANET is an emerging research area with practical applications. However, wireless MANET is particularly vulnerable due to its fundamental characteristics, such as open medium, dynamic topology, distributed cooperation, and constrained capability. Routing plays an important role in the security of the entire network. In general, routing security in wireless MANETs appears to be a problem that is not trivial to solve. In this article we study the routing security issues of MANETs, and analyze in detail one type of attack-the "black hole" problem-that can easily be employed against the MANETs. We also propose a solution for the black hole problem for ad hoc on-demand distance vector routing protocol.     

Intrusion detection in wireless ad hoc networks

Intrusion detection has, over the last few years, assumed paramount importance within the broad realm of network security, more so in the case of wireless ad hoc networks. These are networks that do not have an underlying infrastructure; the network topology is constantly changing. The inherently vulnerable characteristics of wireless ad hoc networks make them susceptible to attacks, and it may be too late before any counter action can take effect. Second, with so much advancement in hacking, if attackers try hard enough they will eventually succeed in infiltrating the system. This makes it important to constantly (or at least periodically) monitor what is taking place on a system and look for suspicious behavior. Intrusion detection systems (IDSs) do just that: monitor audit data, look for intrusions to the system, and initiate a proper response (e.g., email the systems administrator, start an automatic retaliation). As such, there is a need to complement traditional security mechanisms with efficient intrusion detection and response. In this article we present a survey on the work that has been done in the area of intrusion detection in mobile ad hoc networks.     

QoS routing in ad hoc wireless networks

The emergence of nomadic applications have generated much interest in wireless network infrastructures that support real-time communications. We propose a bandwidth routing protocol for quality-of-service (QoS) support in a multihop mobile network. The QoS routing feature is important for a mobile network to interconnect wired networks with QoS support (e.g., ATM, Internet, etc.). The QoS routing protocol can also work in a stand-alone multihop mobile network for real-time applications. This QoS routing protocol contains end-to-end bandwidth calculation and bandwidth allocation. Under such a routing protocol, the source (or the ATM gateway) is informed of the bandwidth and QoS available to any destination in the mobile network. This knowledge enables the establishment of QoS connections within the mobile network and the efficient support of real-time applications. In addition, it enables more efficient call admission control. In the case of ATM interconnection, the bandwidth information can be used to carry out intelligent handoff between ATM gateways and/or to extend the ATM virtual circuit (VC) service to the mobile network with possible renegotiation of QoS parameters at the gateway. We examine the system performance in various QoS traffic flows and mobility environments via simulation. Simulation results suggest distinct performance advantages of our protocol that calculates the bandwidth information. It is particularly useful in call admission control. Furthermore, “standby” routing enhances the performance in the mobile environment. Simulation experiments show this improvement     

QoS issues in ad hoc wireless networks

Ad hoc wireless networks consist of mobile nodes interconnected by multihop communication paths. Unlike conventional wireless networks, ad hoc networks have no fixed network infrastructure or administrative support. The topology of the network changes dynamically as mobile nodes join or depart the network or radio links between nodes become unusable. This article addresses some of the quality of service issues for ad hoc networks which have started to receive increasing attention in the literature. The focus is on QoS routing. This is a complex and difficult issue because of the dynamic nature of the network topology and generally imprecise network state information. We present the basic concepts and discuss some of the results. The article concludes with some observations on the open areas for further investigation     

Robust and low‐communication geographic routing for wireless ad hoc networks

A novel beacon‐less algorithm called Blind Geographic Routing (BGR) is presented, which comes with an effective and robust recovery strategy to circumvent voids, and a new technique to avoid simultaneous forwarding by more than one node, features not included in other beacon‐less algorithms. BGR is the first beacon‐less algorithm that also works in 3D topologies. Additionally, BGR supports different delivery semantics, which specify how close a node must be to the destination location in order to receive the message, and how many nodes shall receive it. These semantics allow for routing not only to designated nodes with network‐wide known locations such as sinks, but to arbitrary destinations within the network area. It is shown through extensive simulation that BGR performs well even in the case of mobility, radio irregularity, and location errors, while GPSR as a beacon‐based algorithm suffers from severe problems in realistic scenarios that do not follow the unit disk graph model, even with recent enhancements of the original GPSR algorithm. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.