Impact of simulation time and network shape on the hop count and stability of routes for mobile ad hoc networks

ABSTRACT

Routing protocols for mobile ad hoc networks (MANETs) have been extensively studied in the literature. The most common mobility model used in these studies is the Random waypoint mobility model. Simulations are generally conducted for the first 1000 seconds of node movement under the Random waypoint mobility model. In this paper, we show that the performance of MANET routing strategies, namely minimum hop and stability-based strategies, varies with the range of the simulation time considered. Based on an extensive set of simulation studies conducted in this paper, we observe that routes incurred in the first 1000 seconds of node movement are bound to be unstable and have larger hop count when compared to routes computed in simulations with starting time greater than 1000 seconds of node movement. Similarly, we observe that routes incurred in nearly single-dimensional rectangular topologies are bound to be unstable and have larger hop count when compared with the routes incurred in square network topologies of the same area. We also observe that for a fixed network shape and node mobility, as the network density increases, the stability of routes increases. We run all of our simulations under diverse conditions of node mobility and network density.

REFERENCES

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INDEX TERMS

Primary Classification:
  C. Computer Systems Organization
  C.2 COMPUTER-COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
      C.2.2 Network Protocols
          Subjects: Routing protocols

General Terms:
Algorithms, Performance

Keywords:
minimum hop routing, random waypoint mobility model, route stability, simulation time