DIVE: A distributed ID assignment and topology discovery protocol for underwater acoustic networks

Abstract

This paper presents the DIVE protocol, which is designed to self assign unique node IDs in an underwater acoustic network. DIVE, which stands for Distributed Id assignment and topology discoVEry, is fully distributed and does not assume any prior knowledge of the network. One of the objectives of the DIVE protocol is the assignment of short IDs to the node, thus reducing the number of bits required to encode this information. Link quality information is explored to increase the robustness of the protocol against message losses. While discovering the network and assigning short node IDs, control data is shared to collect additional information about the network nodes, such as the type (static or mobile) and the number of hops to reach them. This information then can be used to support network operations. The protocol performance has been evaluated via simulations and during two at-sea campaigns: the 2016 Recognized Environmental Picture exercise (REP16), conducted in the Atlantic Ocean, and the 2017 Communications Network trial (CommsNet17), conducted by the NATO Science and Technology Organization Centre for Maritime Research and Experimentation (CMRE) in the Gulf of La Spezia, Italy. A variety of networking scenarios have been explored to validate the proposed solution, including node mobility as well as node addition and removal. The results show that DIVE is an efficient and reliable solution for node ID assignment and network discovery that scales with the network size in the presence of an unreliable communication channel. Additionally, when compared to a state-of-the-art solution, the usage of short IDs can significantly reduce the energy consumption and prolong the network lifetime.