A Simulation Methodology for Conducting Unbiased and Reliable Evaluation of MANET Communication Protocols in Disaster Scenarios

Abstract

The need for a Mobile Ad-Hoc Network (MANET) in environments where there is a lack of communication infrastructure, such as disaster or emergency scenarios, is critical to save lives. MANETs can be used as an alternative network that solves the problem of communications. The selection of an appropriate MANET communication protocol is crucial for the good performance of the whole network. Due to the great variety of communication protocols available for MANETs such as routing and broadcasting protocols, the selection of the most suitable one for disaster scenarios is a relevant task. Routing protocols and broadcasting algorithms are normally evaluated and compared using simulation-based studies. However, conducting reliable and repeatable simulation studies is not a trivial task because many simulation parameters should be correctly configured. In this paper, we propose a methodology for conducting reliable simulations of MANET broadcasting algorithms in disaster scenarios. The proposed methodology is focused on the source nodes selection based on different metrics.