Adaptive Backbone Based Cooperative Caching in Mobile Ad hoc Networks

Existing cooperative caching algorithms for mobile ad hoc networks face serious challenges due to message overhead and scalability issues. To solve these issues, we propose an adaptive virtual backbone based cooperative caching that uses a connective dominating set (CDS) to find the desired location of cached data. Message overhead in cooperative caching is mainly due to cache lookup process used for cooperative caching. The idea in this scheme is to reduce the number of nodes involved in cache look up process, by constructing a virtual backbone adaptive to the dynamic topology in mobile ad hoc networks. The proposed algorithm is decentralized and the nodes in the CDS perform data dissemination and discovery. Simulation results show that the message overhead created by the proposed cooperative caching technique is very less compared to other approaches. Moreover, due to the CDS based cache discovery we applied in this work, the proposed cooperative caching has the potential to increase the cache hit ratio and reduce average delay.     

Connected dominating sets in disk graphs with bidirectional links

In this paper, we study the connected dominating set (CDS) problem in disk graphs. The CDS problem has a significant impact on an efficient design of routing protocols in wireless networks. This problem has been studied extensively in unit disk graphs, in which each node has the same transmission range. However, in wireless ad hoc networks, the transmission ranges of all nodes are not necessary equal. In this paper, we introduce the CDS problem in disk graphs and present a constant approximation algorithm which can be implemented as a distributed algorithm.     

Maintaining weakly-connected dominating sets for clustering ad hoc networks

An ad hoc network is a multihop wireless communication network supporting mobile users. Network performance degradation is a major problem as the network becomes larger. Clustering is an approach to simplify the network structure and thus alleviate the scalability problem. One method that has been proposed to form clusters is to use weakly-connected dominating sets [Y.P. Chen, A.L. Liestman, Approximating minimum size weakly-connected dominating sets for clustering mobile ad hoc networks, in: The Third ACM International Symposium on Mobile Ad Hoc Networking and Computing (MobiHoc’02), 2002, pp. 165–172; Y.P. Chen, A.L. Liestman, A zonal algorithm for clustering ad hoc networks, International Journal of Foundations of Computer Science 14(2) (2003) 305–322]. Here, we present a zonal distributed algorithm to maintain weakly-connected dominating sets as the network structure changes. When the zones are small, the algorithm is essentially localized; when the zones are large, it behaves more globally. The size of the weakly-connected dominating set obtained also varies depending on the choice of zone size, with larger zones generally resulting in smaller weakly-connected dominating sets. Experiments provide evidence that this maintenance algorithm keeps the size of the weakly-connected dominating set approximately the same as its initial size and does not compromise the network connectivity.     

基于图着色的无线自组网极小连通支配集算法

基于连通支配集算法的虚拟主干网技术对于无线自组网的路由优化、能量保护和资源分配都具有重要的作用。通过引入极大独立集和极小支配集概念,基于图着色思想提出一种新的适合于无线自组网的极小连通支配集算法,从理论上证明了该算法的正确性和高效性,也通过仿真实验分析了该算法在多种情况下的实际性能,仿真结果表明新算法在簇头和主干节点数目方面具有较好的性能,特别在节点密集的网络环境中更加突出。     

Network coding over connected dominating set: energy minimal broadcasting in wireless ad hoc networks

Energy efficient broadcast is indispensable for many applications in wireless ad hoc networks. It has been proved that network coding has great potential to improve performance in terms of energy consumption in wireless ad hoc networks. However, the power of network coding depends on the availability of coding opportunities, which in turns depends on how routing paths are established. It is thus beneficial to establish paths in such a way that more coding opportunities are created. By combining network coding and connected dominating set (CDS), we explore energy minimal broadcast protocols in wireless ad hoc networks. The rationale behind this combination is that CDS provides better chances for data flows to intersect, which means more coding opportunities. We design a scheme, named NCDS, that uses network coding over connected dominating set, to reduce energy consumption. Analysis and experimental results show that NCDS outperforms broadcast algorithms that use CDS or network coding alone.     

Construction and maintenance of virtual backbone in wireless networks

In ad hoc wireless networks, there is no predefined infrastructure and nodes communicate with each other via peer communications. In order to make routing efficient in such networks the connected dominating set (CDS) can act as virtual backbone for the network. A smaller virtual backbone suffers less from the interference problem and incurs less maintenance overhead. Computing minimum CDS backbone is proven to be NP-Hard, it is therefore desirable to use efficient heuristic algorithms to find a virtual backbone of small size. Diameter and average backbone path length (ABPL) are other major criteria for evaluation of the backbone produced by an algorithm. In this paper, after giving a brief survey of classical CDS algorithms, two new centralized algorithms are described for the construction of the virtual backbone and their performance has been compared with five recent algorithms (two centralized and three distributed) along the parameters: size, diameter, and ABPL. The new algorithms perform better on most of the criteria. The re-construction of entire CDS upon movement or failure of a few nodes is very costly in terms of processing power, battery utilization, bandwidth utilization etc., as compared to maintaining the CDS for the affected nodes, since the re-construction of the CDS is to be performed for the whole network while maintenance involves the affected nodes and their neighbours only. A new distributed algorithm is described that maintains the virtual backbone on movement or failure of a single node. The overhead of CDS maintenance with this algorithm compares very favourably against that of re-construction.     

Greedy construction of load‐balanced virtual backbones in wireless sensor networks

Inspired by the backbone concept in wired networks, a virtual backbone is expected to bring substantial benefits to routing in wireless sensor networks (WSNs). A connected dominating set (CDS) is used as a virtual backbone for efficient routing and broadcasting in WSNs. Most existing works focus on constructing a minimum CDS, a k‐connect m‐dominating CDS, a minimum routing cost CDS, or a bounded‐diameter CDS. However, the load‐balance factor is not considered for CDSs in WSNs. In this paper, a greedy‐based approximation algorithm is proposed to construct load‐balanced CDS in a WSN. More importantly, we propose a new problem: the Load‐balanced Allocate Dominatee problem. Consequently, we propose an optimal centralized algorithm and an efficient probability‐based distributed algorithm to solve the Load‐balanced Allocate Dominatee problem. For a given CDS, the upper and lower bounds of the performance ratio of the distributed algorithm are analyzed in the paper. Through extensive simulations, we demonstrate that our proposed methods extend network lifetime by up to 80% compared with the most recently published CDS construction algorithm. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A new distributed approximation algorithm for constructing minimum connected dominating set in wireless ad hoc networks

In recent years, constructing a virtual backbone by nodes in a connected dominating set (CDS) has been proposed to improve the performance of ad hoc wireless networks. In general, a dominating set satisfies that every vertex in the graph is either in the set or adjacent to a vertex in the set. A CDS is a dominating set that also induces a connected sub‐graph. However, finding the minimum connected dominating set (MCDS) is a well‐known NP‐hard problem in graph theory. Approximation algorithms for MCDS have been proposed in the literature. Most of these algorithms suffer from a poor approximation ratio, and from high time complexity and message complexity. In this paper, we present a new distributed approximation algorithm that constructs a MCDS for wireless ad hoc networks based on a maximal independent set (MIS). Our algorithm, which is fully localized, has a constant approximation ratio, and O(n) time and O(n) message complexity. In this algorithm, each node only requires the knowledge of its one‐hop neighbours and there is only one shortest path connecting two dominators that are at most three hops away. We not only give theoretical performance analysis for our algorithm, but also conduct extensive simulation to compare our algorithm with other algorithms in the literature. Simulation results and theoretical analysis show that our algorithm has better efficiency and performance than others. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A Dominating-Set-Based Routing Scheme in Ad Hoc Wireless Networks

Efficient routing among a set of mobile hosts (also called nodes) is one of the most important functions in ad hoc wireless networks. Routing based on a connected dominating set is a promising approach, where the searching space for a route is reduced to nodes in the set. A set is dominating if all the nodes in the system are either in the set or neighbors of nodes in the set. In this paper, we propose a simple and efficient distributed algorithm for calculating connected dominating set in ad hoc wireless networks, where connections of nodes are determined by their geographical distances. We also propose an update/recalculation algorithm for the connected dominating set when the topology of the ad hoc wireless network changes dynamically. Our simulation results show that the proposed approach outperforms a classical algorithm in terms of finding a small connected dominating set and doing so quickly. Our approach can be potentially used in designing efficient routing algorithms based on a connected dominating set.     

基于极小独立支配集的MANET虚拟骨干网算法

对规模较大、移动较频繁的MANET(Mobile Ad hoc Networks),用独立支配集构建虚拟骨干网,克服骨干节点之间必须维护连通性的问题,使得拓扑变化较快时骨干网的重构能快速实现;利用极大独立集的求解得到极小独立支配集,并给出基于该支配集的虚拟骨干网数学模型及算法;通过仿真验证算法的有效性、低复杂度和自恢复能力.     

Connected Dominating Sets in Wireless Networks with Different Transmission Ranges

Since there is no fixed infrastructure or centralized management in wireless ad hoc networks, a Connected Dominating Set (CDS) has been proposed to serve as a virtual backbone. The CDS of a graph representing a network has a significant impact on the efficient design of routing protocols in wireless networks. This problem has been studied extensively in Unit Disk Graphs (UDG), in which all nodes have the same transmission ranges. However, in practice, the transmission ranges of all nodes are not necessarily equal. In this paper, we model a network as a disk graph and introduce the CDS problem in disk graphs. We present two efficient approximation algorithms to obtain a minimum CDS. The performance ratio of these algorithms is constant if the ratio of the maximum transmission range over the minimum transmission range in the network is bounded. These algorithms can be implemented as distributed algorithms. Furthermore, we show a size relationship between a maximal independent set and a CDS as well as a bound of the maximum number of independent neighbors of a node in disk graphs. The theoretical analysis and simulation results are also presented to verify our approaches.     

Distributed Approximation Algorithms for Spectrum Allocation in Wireless ad Hoc Networks

Spectrum allocation is a difficult and hot issue in wireless ad hoc networks. An efficient method of spectrum allocation is a key factor to improve quality of service and performance of wireless networks. In this paper, we consider the spectrum allocation problem which asks how to allocate the least number of spectrum blocks in a field to ensure the service on any random k locations simultaneously. Our solution to the spectrum allocation problem is the minimum k-Roman dominating set. We propose two distributed algorithms for the issue of spectrum allocation in wireless ad hoc networks. One is a distributed 6k-approximation algorithm for the spectrum allocation of satisfying any random k (k ≥ 2) locations in the class of unit ball graphs. The other one is a better distributed algorithm for finding a (1 + ε)-approximation for the spectrum allocation problem of serving any random two locations, in the class of growth-bounded graphs. We also describe the simulation results and analyze them.     

Efficient routing for wireless mesh networks using a backup path

Wireless mesh networks (WMNs) have a proven record in providing viable solutions for some of the fundamental issues in wireless networks such as capacity and range limitations. WMN infrastructure includes clusters of mobile ad‐hoc networks connected through a fixed backbone of mesh routers. The mesh network can be constrained severely because of various reasons, which could result in performance degradation such as a drop in throughput or long delays. Solutions to this problem often focus on multipath or multichannel extensions to the existing ad‐hoc routing protocols. In this paper, we propose a novel solution by introducing an alternative path to the mesh backbone that traverses the mobile ad‐hoc networks part of the WMN. The new routing solution allows the mobile nodes (MNs) to establish direct communication among peers without going through the backbone. The proposed alternative ad‐hoc path is used only when the mesh backbone is severely constrained. We also propose, for the first time in WMNs, using MNs with two interfaces, one used in the mesh backbone communication and the other engaged in the ad‐hoc network. A scheme is presented for making the MN aware of link quality measures by providing throughput values to the ad‐hoc on‐demand distance vector protocol. We use piggybacking on route reply messages in ad‐hoc on‐demand distance vector to avoid incurring additional costs. We implemented our solution in an OPNET simulator and evaluated its performance under a variety of conditions. Simulation results show that the alternative ad‐hoc path provides higher throughput and lower delays. Delay analysis show that the throughput improvement does not impose additional costs. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The first constant factor approximation for minimum partial connected dominating set problem in growth-bounded graphs

The idea of virtual backbone has emerged to improve the efficiency of flooding based routing algorithms for wireless networks. The effectiveness of virtual backbone can be improved as its size decreases. The minimum connected dominating set (CDS) problem was used to compute minimum size virtual backbone. However, as this formulation requires the virtual backbone nodes to connect all other nodes, even the size of minimum virtual backbone can be large. This observation leads to consider the minimum partial CDS problem, whose goal is to compute a CDS serving only more than a certain portion of the nodes in a given network. So far, the performance ratio of the best approximation algorithm for the problem is \(O(\ln \varDelta ),\) where \(\varDelta\) is the maximum degree of the input general graph. In this paper, we first assume the input graph is a growth-bounded graph and introduce the first constant factor approximation for the problem. Later, we show that our algorithm is an approximation for the problem in unit disk graph with a much smaller performance ratio, which is of practical interest since unit disk graph is popular to abstract homogeneous wireless networks. Finally, we conduct simulations to evaluate the average performance of our algorithm.     

无线Ad hoc网络中虚拟骨干网的模型和设计

利用网络图论中支配集的概念，给出无线Ad hoc网络中虚拟骨干网的数学模型。介绍了目前几种常用的虚拟骨干网设计方案，并从算法的复杂度和所需的邻居信息等方面对其进行比较。     

Distributed Construction of Connected Dominating Set in Wireless Ad Hoc Networks

Connected dominating set (CDS) has been proposed as virtual backbone or spine of wireless ad hoc networks. Three distributed approximation algorithms have been proposed in the literature for minimum CDS. In this paper, we first reinvestigate their performances. None of these algorithms have constant approximation factors. Thus these algorithms cannot guarantee to generate a CDS of small size. Their message complexities can be as high as O(n ²), and their time complexities may also be as large as O(n ²) and O(n ³). We then present our own distributed algorithm that outperforms the existing algorithms. This algorithm has an approximation factor of at most 8, O(n) time complexity and O(nlogn) message complexity. By establishing the (nlogn) lower bound on the message complexity of any distributed algorithm for nontrivial CDS, our algorithm is thus message-optimal.     

Bit-per-joule performance of power saving ad hoc networks with a mobile backbone

Energy efficient MAC protocols have been developed for wireless sensor and mobile ad hoc networks so that inactive nodes can transition into sleep state to conserve energy. It has been recognized that maintaining a continuously awake connected dominating set (CDS) serves to reduce the route setup latency. Under the mobile backbone network (MBN) architecture introduced by Rubin et al., a mobile backbone (Bnet) is dynamically constructed to provide a topological covering of the network. The MBN employs a hybrid routing algorithm under which flows that travel a distance longer than a threshold are directed along routes across the Bnet. In turn, a limited span network-wide global route discovery process is applied for routing shorter distance flows. In this paper, we introduce and analyze an MBN based power saving protocol (MBN-PS) that employs this hybrid routing scheme. Under the MBN-PS scheme, dynamically elected backbone nodes are kept awake, while inactive non-backbone nodes can reside in sleep state. We analytically show that, when the number of network flows is above a minimal level, the throughput per watt efficiency attained in an ad hoc network under complete backbone coverage is better than that achieved by a corresponding network that does not form a backbone. We present a model for the calculation of the bit-per-joule performance of the network as a function of the distance threshold. We confirm the validity of our analytical approach through simulations. Using our method, a network designer is able to choose the optimal distance threshold to be used by this scheme, based on traffic loading conditions.     

时延和能耗均衡的强连通支配集构造算法

针对无线传感器网络中链路的非对称性,提出时延约束的强连通支配树(SDTT,strongly connected dominating tree with bounded transmission delay)问题,给出在有向图上构建传输时延和能量消耗均衡的强连通支配集的强连通支配树(SCDT,distributed strongly connected dominating tree)算法。首先在单位圆图(UDG)模型的基础上构建极大独立集(MIS),然后在具有双向权值的有向图上基于最小支撑树和最短路径树实现分布式SCDT算法,同时满足时延和能耗均衡的约束条件要求。理论算例分析和仿真结果表明提出的算法能有效地解决SDTT问题,构造联合约束的强连通支配集,形成时延和能耗均衡的虚拟骨干。     

A stable virtual backbone for wireless MANETS

Due to the highly dynamicity and absence of a fixed infrastructure in wireless mobile ad hoc networks (MANET), formation of a stable virtual backbone through which all the network hosts are connected is of great importance. In this paper, a learning automata-based distributed algorithm is proposed for constructing the most stable virtual backbone of the MANET. To do so, the backbone formation problem is first modeled by the stochastic version of the bounded diameter minimum spanning tree (BDMST) problem. Then, the network backbone is constructed by solving the stochastic BDMST problem for the network topology graph. Several simulation experiments are conducted to investigate the efficiency of the proposed backbone formation protocol. The obtained results are compared with those of the best existing methods. Numerical results show the superiority of the proposed method over the others in terms of backbone lifetime, end-to-end delay, backbone size, packet delivery ratio, and control message overhead.     

A flow-based network monitoring framework for wireless mesh networks

As an extension of wireless ad hoc and sensor networks, wireless mesh networks recently were developed as a key solution to provide high-quality multimedia services and applications, such as voice, data, and video, over wireless personal area networks, wireless local area networks, and wireless metropolitan area networks. A WMN has a hybrid network infrastructure with a backbone and an access network and usually is operated in both ad hoc and infrastructure modes with self-configuration and self-organization capabilities. In this article, we review security challenges, attacks, and countermeasures in the physical, medium access control (MAC), and network layers of wireless mesh backbone and access networks. We then extend the concept of traffic flow from IP networks and define meshflow in wireless mesh networks. Based on this new concept, we propose a comprehensive framework to realize network monitoring, user and router profiling, application and service balancing, and security protection in wireless mesh backbone networks. Practical issues and design trade-offs for implementing the proposed framework in real systems also are discussed.