From link dynamics to path lifetime and packet-length optimization in MANETs

Abstract

We present an analytical framework and statistical models to accurately characterize the lifetime of a wireless link and multi-hop paths in mobile ad hoc networks (MANET). We show that the lifetimes of links and paths can be computed through a two-state Markov model. We also show that the analytical solution follows closely the results obtained through discrete-event simulations for two mobility models, namely, random direction and random waypoint mobility models. We apply these models to study practical implications of link lifetime on routing protocols. First, we compute optimal packet lengths as a function of mobility, and show that significant throughput improvements can be attained by adapting packet lengths to the mobility of nodes in a MANET. Second, we show how the caching strategy of on-demand routing protocols can benefit from considering the link lifetimes in a MANET. Finally,we summarize all the analytical results into a comprehensive performance analysis on throughput, delay and storage.