Terrain Details Effect on Connectivity in Ad hoc Wireless Networks

Sonja Filiposka,Igor Mishkovski,Blanka Taslamicheska Trajkoska

doi:10.4236/cn.2013.52b006

Abstract

In this work, we conduct a research on the effects of the details of the terrain on the path establishment in wireless networks. We discuss how the terrain induced variations, that are unavoidably caused by the obstructions and irregularities in the surroundings of the transmitting and the receiving antennas, have two distinct effects on the network. Firstly, they reduce the amount of links in the network connectivity graph causing it to behave more randomly, while decreasing the coverage and capacity of the network. Secondly, they increase the length of the established paths between the nodes. The presented results show how the terrain oblique influences the layout of the network connectivity graph, in terms of different network metrics, and gives insight to the appropriate level of details needed to describe the terrain in order to obtain results that will be satisfyingly accurate.

Highlights

Propagation models for wireless networks have traditionally focused on predicting the average received signal strength at a given distance from the transmitter, as well as the variability of the signal strength in proximity to a particular location
When estimating the ad hoc network performances very little attention is given to the terrain [1], and to the propagation model used for the estimation [2,3,4]
The terrain profile of a particular area needs to be taken into account when estimating the path loss since the transmission path between the transmitter and the receiver can vary from simple line-of-sight to one that is obstructed by buildings, hillsides or foliage

Summary

Introduction

Propagation models for wireless networks have traditionally focused on predicting the average received signal strength at a given distance from the transmitter, as well as the variability of the signal strength in proximity to a particular location. When estimating the ad hoc network performances very little attention is given to the terrain [1], and to the propagation model used for the estimation [2,3,4]. In this paper we investigate the influence of the terrain detail level on the network connectivity, coverage and capacity for a typical ad hoc network simulation. We investigate how the different detail level of the terrain influences the layout of the network connectivity graph, especially in terms of network partitioning, average path length, node degree distribution and similar metrics from graph theory. Using 3D terrain wireless simulations in NS-2 we study the influence of the network connectivity graph changes on the multi-hop path establishment and network performances.

Terrain Aware Propagation Models

Graph Connectivity Analysis

Network Performance Analysis

Conclusions