CAPACITY EVALUATION OF MULTI-CHANNEL WIRELESS AD HOC NETWORKS

In this paper, the capacity of multi-channel, multi-hop ad hoc network is evaluated.In particular, the performance of multi-hop ad hoc network with single channel IEEE 802.11 MAC utilizing different topologies is shown. Also the scaling laws of throughputs for largescale ad hoc networks and the theoretical guaranteed throughput bounds for multi-channel grid topology systems are proposed. The results presented in this work will help researchers to choose the proper parameter settings in evaluation of protocols for multi-hop ad hoc networks.     

Capacity of ad hoc wireless networks with infrastructure support

We determine the asymptotic scaling for the per user throughput in a large hybrid ad hoc network, i.e., a network with both ad hoc nodes, which communicate with each other via shared wireless links of capacity W bits/s, and infrastructure nodes which in addition are interconnected with each other via high capacity links. Specifically, we consider a network model where ad hoc nodes are randomly spatially distributed and choose to communicate with a random destination. We identify three scaling regimes, depending on the growth of the number of infrastructure nodes, m relative to the number of ad hoc nodes n, and show the asymptotic scaling for the per user throughput as n becomes large. We show that when m /spl lsim/ /spl radic/n/logn the per user throughput is of order W//spl radic/n log n and could be realized by allowing only ad hoc communications, i.e., not deploying the infrastructure nodes at all. Whenever /spl radic/n/log n /spl lsim/ m /spl lsim/ n/log n, the order for the per user throughput is Wm/n and, thus, the total additional bandwidth provided by m infrastructure nodes is effectively shared among ad hoc nodes. Finally, whenever m /spl gsim/ n/log n, the order of the per user throughput is only W/log n, suggesting that further investments in infrastructure nodes will not lead to improvement in throughput. The results are shown through an upper bound which is independent of the routing strategy, and by constructing scenarios showing that the upper bound is asymptotically tight.     

Mobile backbone synthesis for ad hoc wireless networks

In this paper, we present an extended mobile backbone network topology synthesis algorithm (ETSA) for constructing and maintaining a dynamic backbone structure for mobile ad hoc wireless networks. We present and analyze the mathematical features of the proposed scheme. Using these results, we prove that: (1) The ETSA scheme converges in constant time; (2) The length of each control packet is bounded by a constant value that is independent of the number of network nodes; (3) The size of the backbone network depends only on the size of the operational area and is independent of nodal density. We compare the performance features of this scheme with those characterizing other protocols that employ clustering operations and/or use selective forwarding on demand routing methods. In addition, we present an on-demand routing protocol (MBNR) that makes use of the underlying dynamically self-configuring backbone network infrastructure and demonstrate its performance advantages when compared with an on-demand routing protocol that is based on a flat architecture, as well as with other backbone-based routing protocols.     

Scalable routing strategies for ad hoc wireless networks

We consider a large population of mobile stations that are interconnected by a multihop wireless network. The applications of this wireless infrastructure range from ad hoc networking (e.g., collaborative, distributed computing) to disaster recovery (e.g., fire, flood, earthquake), law enforcement (e.g., crowd control, search-and-rescue), and military (automated battlefield). Key characteristics of this system are the large number of users, their mobility, and the need to operate without the support of a fixed (wired or wireless) infrastructure. The last feature sets this system apart from existing cellular systems and in fact makes its design much more challenging. In this environment, we investigate routing strategies that scale well to large populations and can handle mobility. In addition, we address the need to support multimedia communications, with low latency requirements for interactive traffic and quality-of-service (QoS) support for real-time streams (voice/video). In the wireless routing area, several schemes have already been proposed and implemented (e.g., hierarchical routing, on-demand routing, etc.). We introduce two new schemes-fisheye state routing (FSR) and hierarchical state routing (HSR)-which offer some competitive advantages over the existing schemes. We compare the performance of existing and proposed schemes via simulation     

Robust position-based routing for wireless ad hoc networks

We consider a wireless ad hoc network composed of a set of wireless nodes distributed in a two dimensional plane. Several routing protocols based on the positions of the mobile hosts have been proposed in the literature. A typical assumption in these protocols is that all wireless nodes have uniform transmission regions modeled by unit disk centered at each wireless node. However, all these protocols are likely to fail if the transmission ranges of the mobile hosts vary due to natural or man-made obstacles or weather conditions. These protocols may fail because either some connections that are used by routing protocols do not exist, which effectively results in disconnecting the network, or the use of some connections causes livelocks. In this paper, we describe a robust routing protocol that tolerates up to roughly 40% of variation in the transmission ranges of the mobile hosts. More precisely, our protocol guarantees message delivery in a connected ad hoc network whenever the ratio of the maximum transmission range to the minimum transmission range is at most .     

Design challenges for energy-constrained ad hoc wireless networks

Ad hoc wireless networks enable new and exciting applications, but also pose significant technical challenges. In this article we give a brief overview of ad hoc wireless networks and their applications with a particular emphasis on energy constraints. We then discuss advances in the link, multiple access, network, and application protocols for these networks. We show that cross-layer design of these protocols is imperative to meet emerging application requirements, particularly when energy is a limited resource.     

Accountability for wireless LANs, ad hoc networks, and wireless mesh networks [security in mobile ad hoc]

Accountability is an extremely important issue in computer and network systems. One of the goals of accountability is the capability to trace an event (e.g., the leaking of secure information or an outside attack), even after the event occurred so that the causes can be determined. This article first provides a survey of accountability with a general overview of the topic, using electronic patient records and various computer and network attacks as a model. Then, it describes and analyzes practical framework applications of accountability systems. An insurable network architecture, called A-NET is proposed. Then, an algorithm to achieve true accountable administration is proposed, namely, that an administrator's activities must be accountable. Finally, accountability for wireless LANs, ad hoc networks, and wireless mesh networks are studied.     

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     

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.     

Transmit power randomization for wireless ad hoc green networks

Future green technologies require the reduction of power consumptions, increasing energy efficiencies, and managing the electromagnetic interference footprints. In this paper, we investigate the use of randomized transmit power strategy in which the nodes transmit with random power in a single‐hop ad hoc wireless network. We assume Nakagami‐m channel with very slow feedback channel for power update commands. Hence, by using the characteristic function of the received power, we develop a new mathematical formulation for the outage probability. Further, we test the developed formulation on the known constant transmit power case and randomized uniform distribution with constant maximum case. We show that the performance in terms of outage probabilities and total power consumption of all nodes is generally poor. Therefore, we extend our results to the case of optimized constant power and propose the use of randomized uniform distribution with optimized maximum power. We show that the proposed power distribution outperforms the previous ones and reduces the overall power consumption by many orders of magnitude.     

Energy-aware on-demand routing protocols for wireless ad hoc networks

Energy use is a crucial design concern in wireless ad hoc networks since wireless terminals are typically battery-operated. The design objectives of energy-aware routing are two folds: Selecting energy-efficient paths and minimizing the protocol overhead incurred for acquiring such paths. To achieve these goals simultaneously, we present the design of several on-demand energy-aware routing protocols. The key idea behind our design is to adaptively select the subset of nodes that are required to involve in a route-searching process in order to acquire a high residual-energy path and/or the degree to which nodes are required to participate in the process of searching for a low-power path in networks wherein nodes have transmission power adjusting capability. Analytical and simulation results are given to demonstrate the high performance of the designed protocols in energy-efficient utilization as well as in reducing the protocol overhead incurred in acquiring energy-efficient routes. Baoxian Zhang received his B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees in Electrical Engineering from Northern Jiaotong University, Beijing, China in 1994, 1997, and 2000, respectively. From January 2001 to August 2002, he was working with Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Queen’s University in Kingston as a postdoctoral fellow. He is currently a research scientist with the School of Information Technology and Engineering (SITE) of University of Ottawa in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. He has published over 40 refereed technical papers in international journals and conference proceedings. His research interests include routing algorithm and protocol design, QoS management, wireless ad hoc and sensor networks, survivable optical networks, multicast communications, and performance evaluation. He is a member of the IEEE. Hussein Mouftah joined the School of Information Technology and Engineering (SITE) of the University of Ottawa in September 2002 as a Canada Research Chair (Tier 1) Professor in Optical Networks. He has been with the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Queen’s University (1979-2002), where he was prior to his departure a Full Professor and the Department Associate Head. He has three years of industrial experience mainly at Bell Northern Research of Ottawa, now Nortel Networks (1977-79). He has spent three sabbatical years also at Nortel Networks (1986-87, 1993-94, and 2000-01), always conducting research in the area of broadband packet switching networks, mobile wireless networks and quality of service over the optical Internet. He served as Editor-in-Chief of the IEEE Communications Magazine (1995-97) and IEEE Communications Society Director of Magazines (1998-99) and Chair of the Awards Committee (2002-2003). He is a Distinguished Speaker of the IEEE Communications Society since 2000. Dr. Mouftah is the author or coauthor of five books, 22 book chapters and more than 700 technical papers and 8 patents in this area. He is the recipient of the 1989 Engineering Medal for Research and Development of the Association of Professional Engineers of Ontario (PEO), and the Ontario Distinguished Researcher Award of the Ontario Innovation Trust. He is the joint holder of the Best Paper Award for a paper presented at SPECTS’2002, and the Outstanding Paper Award for papers presented at the IEEE HPSR’2002 and the IEEE ISMVL’1985. Also he is the joint holder of a Honorable Mention for the Frederick W. Ellersick Price Paper Award for Best Paper in the IEEE Communications Magazine in 1993. He is the recipient of the IEEE Canada (Region 7) Outstanding Service Award (1995). Also he is the recipient of the 2004 IEEE Communications Society Edwin Howard Armstrong Achievement Award, and the 2004 George S. Glinski Award for Excellence in Research of the Faculty of Engineering, University of Ottawa. Dr. Mouftah is a Fellow of the IEEE (1990) and Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering (2003).     

Interference aware cooperative routing for wireless ad hoc networks

In this paper, we propose a cooperative approach for routing in wireless ad hoc networks. Our solution improves the interference distribution in the network, with an immediate positive impact on the throughput performance and energy efficiency. In determining new routes, we consider not only the cost associated with the current route, but also the potential interference impact of the route on the neighboring nodes.We use this cooperative approach to determine routes for CDMA ad hoc networks, which are known to be severely limited in performance by the near–far effect. Our simulation results using cooperative routing show an improvement in throughput of up to 60% compared to the classic minimum energy routing approach. This improvement is achieved at the expense of only a slight increase in the average energy per bit transmission for an end-to-end path.     

Scalable geographic routing algorithms for wireless ad hoc networks

The design of efficient routing protocols for dynamical changing network topologies is a crucial part of building power-efficient and scalable ad hoc wireless networks. If position information is available due to GPS or some kind of relative positioning technique, a promising approach is given by geographic routing algorithms, where each forwarding decision is based on the positions of current, destination, and possible candidate nodes in vicinity only. About 15 years ago heuristic greedy algorithms were proposed, which in order to provide freedom from loops might fail even if there is a path from source to destination. In recent years planar graph traversal has been investigated as one possible strategy to recover from such greedy routing failures. This article provides a tutorial for this class of geographic routing algorithms, and discusses recent improvements to both greedy forwarding and routing in planar graphs.     

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.     

Cooperative and opportunistic transmission for wireless ad hoc networks

Moving toward 4G, wireless ad hoc networks receive growing interest due to users' provisioning of mobility, usability of services, and seamless communications. In ad hoc networks fading environments provide the opportunity to exploit variations in channel conditions, and transmit to the user with the currently "best" channel. In this article two types of opportunistic transmission, which leverage time diversity and multi-user diversity, respectively, are studied. Considering the co-channel interference and lack of a central controller in ad hoc networks, the "cooperative and opportunistic transmission" concept is promoted. For opportunistic transmission that exploits time diversity, it is observed that the inequality in channel contention due to the hidden terminal phenomenon tends to result in energy inefficiency. Under this design philosophy, we propose a distributed cooperative rate adaptation (CRA) scheme to reduce overall system power consumption. Taking advantage of the time-varying channel among different users/receivers and being aware of the potential contention among neighboring transmissions, we propose a QoS-aware cooperative and opportunistic scheduling (COS) scheme to improve system performance while satisfying QoS requirements of individual flows. Simulation results show that by leveraging node cooperation, our proposed schemes, CRA and COS, achieve higher network throughput and provide better QoS support than existing work     

Collaborative beamforming for distributed wireless ad hoc sensor networks

The performance of collaborative beamforming is analyzed using the theory of random arrays. The statistical average and distribution of the beampattern of randomly generated phased arrays is derived in the framework of wireless ad hoc sensor networks. Each sensor node is assumed to have a single isotropic antenna and nodes in the cluster collaboratively transmit the signal such that the signal in the target direction is coherently added in the far-field region. It is shown that with N sensor nodes uniformly distributed over a disk, the directivity can approach N, provided that the nodes are located sparsely enough. The distribution of the maximum sidelobe peak is also studied. With the application to ad hoc networks in mind, two scenarios (closed-loop and open-loop) are considered. Associated with these scenarios, the effects of phase jitter and location estimation errors on the average beampattern are also analyzed.