An evolutionary computation approach for designing mobile ad hoc networks

This paper presents the topological design of ad hoc networks in terms of distances among static nodes and speeds of mobiles nodes. Due to the complexity of the problem and the number of parameters to be considered, a genetic algorithm combined with the simulation environment NS-2 is proposed to find the optimum solution. More specifically, NS-2 provides the fitness function guiding the genetic search. The proposed framework has been tested using a railway scenario in which several static and mobile nodes are interacting. Results show the feasibility of the proposed framework and illustrate the possibility of genetic approach for solving similar application scenarios.     

Service discovery in mobile ad hoc networks: A field theoretic approach

Service discovery in mobile ad hoc networks is challenging because of the absence of any central intelligence in the network. Traditional solutions as used in the Internet are hence not well suited for mobile ad hoc networks. In this paper, we present a novel decentralized service discovery mechanism for ad hoc networks. The basic idea is to distribute information about available services to the network neighborhood. We achieve this by using the analogy of an electrostatic field: A service is modelled by a (positive) point charge, and service request packets are seen as (negative) test charges which are attracted by the service instances. In our approach, we map the physical model to a mobile ad hoc network in a way where each network element calculates a potential value and routes service requests towards the neighbor with the highest potential, hence towards a service instance. Our approach allows for differentiation of service instances based on their capacity. We define the required protocols and methods which we implemented in a network simulator. Using extensive simulations, we evaluate the performance and robustness of the mechanisms. The results indicate good performance and convergence even in highly mobile environments. We believe that this technique can and should be further exploited, e.g., as a routing protocol in mobile ad hoc networks.     

A flocking-based approach to maintain connectivity in mobile wireless ad hoc networks

Mobile ad hoc networks (MANET) have a set of unique challenges, particularly due to mobility of nodes, that need to be addressed to realize their full potentials. Because the mobile nodes of a MANET are free to move rapidly and arbitrarily, the network topology may change unexpectedly. This paper presents a decentralized approach to maintain the connectivity of a MANET using autonomous, intelligent agents. Autonomous agents are special mobile nodes in a MANET, but unlike other nodes, their function is to proactively prevent network bottlenecks and service problems by intelligently augmenting the network topology. To achieve this function without depending on a central network management system, autonomous agents are expected to dynamically relocate themselves as the topology of the network changes during the mission time. A flocking-based heuristic algorithm is proposed to determine agent locations. A computational study is performed to investigate the effect of basic flocking behaviors on the connectivity of a MANET.     

Triangle-based routing for mobile ad hoc networks

Routing protocols for Mobile ad hoc networks (MANETs) have been studied extensively in the past decade. Routing protocols for MANETs can be broadly classified as reactive (on-demand), proactive, hybrid and position-based. Reactive routing protocols are attractive because a route between a source and a destination is established only when it is needed. Such protocols, unlike proactive protocols, do not have high overhead for route maintenance and are especially suitable for networks in which not all nodes communicate frequently. One problem with existing reactive routing protocols is the propagation of redundant route request messages during route discovery. In this paper, we present a low-overhead reactive routing protocol which reduces propagation of redundant route request messages. We also compare its performance with the well-known reactive routing protocol AODV.     

Neighborhood tracking for mobile ad hoc networks

In mobile ad hoc networks (MANETs), node mobility causes network topologies to change dynamically over time, which complicates such important tasks as broadcasting and routing. In a typical efficient localized approach, each node makes forwarding decisions based on a neighborhood local view constructed simply by collecting received “Hello” messages. That kind of neighborhood local view can become outdated and inconsistent, which induces a low-coverage problem for efficient broadcasting tasks and a low-delivery ratio problem for efficient routing tasks. In this paper, we propose a neighborhood tracking scheme to guarantee the accuracy of forwarding decisions. Based on historical location information, nodes predict the positions of neighbors when making a forwarding decision, and then construct an updated and consistent neighborhood local view to help derive more precise forwarding decisions. The inaccuracy factors of our scheme are also discussed and an accessory method is provided for possible usage. Simulation results illustrate the accuracy of our proposed tracking scheme. To verify the effectiveness of our scheme, we apply it to existing efficient broadcast algorithms. Simulation results indicate that our neighborhood tracking scheme can improve the protocols coverage ratio greatly.     

A fuzzy-based Power-aware management for mobile ad hoc networks

In recent years, people have become more dependent on wireless network services to obtain the latest information at any time anywhere. Wireless networks must effectively allow several types of mobile devices send data to one another. The Mobile Ad Hoc Network (MANET) is one important type of non-infrastructure mobile network that consists of many mobile hosts, usually cellular phones. The power consumption rate and bandwidth of each mobile host device becomes an important issue and needs to be addressed. For increasing the reliability of the manager in Hierarchical Cellular Based Management (HCBM), this paper proposed a Power-aware protocol to select a stable manager from mobile hosts by fuzzy based inference systems based on the factors of speed, battery power, and location. Further, our protocol can trigger a mobile agent to distribute the managerial workload.     

Verification of mobile ad hoc networks: An algebraic approach

We introduced Computed Network Process Theory to reason about protocols for mobile ad hoc networks (MANETs). Here we explore the applicability of our framework in two regards: model checking and equational reasoning. The operational semantics of our framework is based on constrained labeled transition systems (CLTSs), in which each transition label is parameterized with the set of topologies for which this transition is enabled. We illustrate how through model checking on CLTSs one can analyze mobility scenarios of MANET protocols. Furthermore, we show how by equational theory one can reason about MANETs consisting of a finite but unbounded set of nodes, in which all nodes deploy the same protocol. Model checking and equational reasoning together provide us with an appropriate framework to prove the correctness of MANETs. We demonstrate the applicability of our framework by a case study on a simple routing protocol.     

Cost-effective mobile ad hoc networks management

As there are more and more mobile devices in use, different mobile networking models such as ad hoc or mesh are attracting a large research interest. Self-organizing mobile ad hoc networks (MANET) allow devices to share their services and resources without any central administration or Internet support. In this respect they can become the backbone of the wireless grid or the gateway to existing grids. To achieve these goals, MANET management must be as effective as that of wired networks. This is, however, a challenging task due to network features like mobility, heterogeneity, limited resources of hosts and feeble communication. This paper presents a set of simple, cost-effective and resilient procedures for the basic tasks of MANET creation and management.     

Model checking mobile ad hoc networks

Modeling arbitrary connectivity changes within mobile ad hoc networks (MANETs) makes application of automated formal verification challenging. We use constrained labeled transition systems as a semantic model to represent mobility. To model check MANET protocols with respect to the underlying topology and connectivity changes, we introduce a branching-time temporal logic. The path quantifiers are parameterized by multi-hop constraints over topologies, to discriminate the paths over which the temporal behavior should be investigated; the paths that violate the multi-hop constraints are not considered. A model checking algorithm is presented to verify MANETs that allow arbitrary mobility, under the assumption of reliable communication. It is applied to analyze a leader election protocol.     

Robust self-keying mobile ad hoc networks

Pairwise key establishment in mobile ad hoc networks allows any pair of nodes to agree upon a shared key. This is an important security service needed to secure routing protocols, and in general to facilitate secure communication among the nodes of the network.We present two self-keying mechanisms for pairwise key establishment in mobile ad hoc networks which do not require any centralized support. The mechanisms are built using the well-known technique of threshold secret sharing, and are robust and secure against a collusion of up to a certain number of nodes. We evaluate and compare the performance of both the mechanisms in terms of the node admission and pairwise key establishment.     

A cross-layer middleware for context-aware cooperative application on mobile ad hoc peer-to-peer network

Mobile ad hoc peer-to-peer (P2P) applications become popular for providing the file sharing, voice communicating, and video streaming services due to entertainments and disaster recovery. However, both the topology of wireless network and the overlay of P2P network are dynamic, so the middleware is proposed to integrate such architectures of service-oriented applications. Therefore, we propose context-aware cooperative application (CACA) to overcome the frequent churn and high mobility problems. CACA proposes a cross-layer middleware to integrate DHT-based lookup, anycast query, and P2P delivery via the IPv6 routing header. Through anycast query, the response delay can be shortened and the query duplication can be minimized. Via IPv6 routing header, the delivery efficiency can be improved. Through the cross-layer design, the finger table in overlay layer is combined with the routing table in network layer to heighten proximity. The simulation results demonstrate that CACA has the outstanding performances of short download delay, high playback continuity, and low signaling overhead in mobile ad hoc network.     

Group communications in mobile ad hoc networks

Efficient support of group communications is critical for most ad hoc network applications. However, manet group communications issues differ from those in wired environments because the wireless communications medium has variable and unpredictable characteristics, and the signal strength and propagation fluctuate with respect to time and environment. We provide an overview of group communications issues such as protocol design, state maintenance, and performance. We also discuss representative protocols and examine related issues such as reliability, power conservation, quality of service, security, and areas requiring additional research.     

移动自组网的动态编址问题

作为实现移动自组网自动配置的一个关键问题,综述了节点地址的自动配置的最新进展,描述了设计移动自组网动态地址配置协议所面临的问题,对该问题研究开展以来所提出的各种主要方法和协议进行了详细对比、分析和分类阐述,为进一步的研究提出了新的建议。     

A two-zone hybrid routing protocol for mobile ad hoc networks

Recently, an elegant routing protocol, the zone routing protocol (ZRP), was proposed to provide a hybrid routing framework that is locally proactive and globally reactive, with the goal of minimizing the sum of the proactive and reactive control overhead. The key idea of ZRP is that each node proactively advertises its link state over a fixed number of hops, called the zone radius. These local advertisements provide each node with an updated view of its routing zone - the collection of all nodes and links that are reachable within the zone radius. The nodes on the boundary of the routing zone are called peripheral nodes and play an important role in the reactive zone-based route discovery. The main contribution of this work is to propose a novel hybrid routing protocol - the two-zone routing protocol (TZRP) - as a nontrivial extension of ZRP. In contrast with the original ZRP where a single zone serves a dual purpose, TZRP aims to decouple the protocol's ability to adapt to traffic characteristics from its ability to adapt to mobility. In support of this goal, in TZRP each node maintains two zones: a crisp zone and a fuzzy zone. By adjusting the sizes of these two zones independently, a lower total routing control overhead can be achieved. Extensive simulation results show that TZRP is a general MANET routing framework that can balance the trade offs between various routing control overheads more effectively than ZRP in a wide range of network conditions.     

Adaptive routing protocol for mobile ad hoc networks

Artificial immune systems (AIS) are used for solving complex optimization problems and can be applied to the detection of misbehaviors, such as a fault tolerant. We present novel techniques for the routing optimization from the perspective of the artificial immunology theory. We discussed the bioinspired protocol AntOR and analyze its new enhancements. This ACO protocol based on swarm intelligence takes into account the behavior of the ants at the time of obtaining the food. In the simulation results we compare it with the reactive protocol AODV observing how our proposal improves it according to Jitter, the delivered data packet ratio, throughput and overhead in number of packets metrics.     

A high-performance,ad hoc,fuzzy query processing system

Database queries involving imprecise or fuzzy predicates are currently an evolving area of academic and industrial research (Buckles and Perty 1987; Bosc et al. 1988; Bosc and Pivert 1991; Kacprzyk et al. 1989; Prade and Testemale, 1987; Tahani, 1977; Umano, 1983; Zemankova and Kandel, 1985). Such queries place severe stress on the indexing and I/O subsystems of conventional database systems since they frequently involve the search of large numbers of records. The Datacycle (Datacycle is a trademark of Bellcore.) architecture and research prototype is a database processing system that uses filtering technology to perform an efficient, exhaustive search of an entire database. It has been modified to include fuzzy predicates in its query processing. The approach obviates the need for complex index structures, provides high-performance query throughput, permits the use of ad hoc fuzzy membership functions and provides deterministic response time largely independent of query complexity and load. This paper describes the Datacycle prototype implementation of fuzzy queries and some recent performance results.     

Markovian-based traffic modeling for mobile ad hoc networks

Mobile ad hoc networks (MANETs) show very significant difference with respect to other computer networks due to the presence of extremely large packet loss bursts. The development of protocols for mobile ad hoc networks, especially multimedia protocols, require extensive evaluation either through simulation or real-life tests. Such testing consumes a great amount of resources both in terms of time and trace file sizes. Therefore, finding efficient means of reducing the amount of data that is stored and processed is quite important to accelerate the evaluation of different audio/video streaming applications. If, moreover, we are able to model the loss pattern experienced, we can further accelerate the evaluation process.In this work we propose two models based on hidden Markov chains that are able to grasp both packet arrivals and packet loss patterns in MANETs. A simpler two-state model is proposed to model losses when proactive routing protocols are used, while a more complex three-state model is proposed for reactive routing protocols. We also introduce a new set for packet loss pattern measurements that can be of interest for the evaluation of audio/video streaming applications.Experimental results show that the proposed models can adequately reproduce extremely long packet loss patterns, typical of MANET environments, with a high degree of accuracy. Overall, we find that the proposed models are able to significantly reduce both the simulation time and the trace file sizes required.     

Modelling incentives for collaboration in mobile ad hoc networks

This paper explores a model for the operation of an ad hoc mobile network. The model incorporates incentives for users to act as transit nodes on multi-hop paths and to be rewarded with their own ability to send traffic. The paper explores consequences of the model by means of fluid-level simulations of a network and illustrates the way in which network resources are allocated to users according to their geographical position.     

(Re)configuration algorithms for peer-to-peer over ad hoc networks

A peer-to-peer network over an ad hoc infrastructure is a powerful combination that provides users with means to access different kinds of information anytime and anywhere. In this paper we study the (re)configuration issue in this highly dynamic scenario. We propose three (re)configuration algorithms especially concerned with the constraints of the environment presented. The algorithms aim to use the scarce resources of the network in an efficient way, improving the performance and the network lifetime. The algorithms were simulated and we used a simple Gnutella-like algorithm as comparison. The results show that the algorithms achieved their goals, presenting a good cost–benefit relation.     

A multi-timescale cross-layer approach for wireless ad hoc networks

Conventionally, cross-layer designs with same timescale updates can work well; however, there is a difference in layers’ timescales and each layer normally operates at its corresponding timescale when implemented in real systems. To respect this issue, in this article, we introduce a multi-timescale cross-layer design along with three sets of constraints: congestion control, link delay, and power control and with the objective of maximizing the overall utility and minimizing the total link delay and power consumption. The proposed procedure can be implemented in a distributed fashion, which not only guarantees truly optimal solutions to the underlying problem, but also adheres to the natural timescale difference among layers. Finally, the numerical results further solidify the efficacies of our proposal compared to the current frameworks.