Mobile Ad-hoc Network Routing Protocols:

Methodology and Applications

Tao Lin
Electrical Engineering
(Advisor: Scott F. Midkifff)

2003 IREAN Research Workshop

 Outline
l My background
l Literature review
l Motivation and research goals
l Preliminary work
l Multidisciplinary aspects
l Summary

IREAN Research Workshop 2 April 25-26, 2003

 My Background
l Ph.D. candidate
n Major in Electrical Engineering (Started in January 2000)
n Passed qualifying exam in January 2001 and preliminary exam in
March 2003
n Expect to graduate in December 2003
l Previous degrees
n MS degree from Electrical Engineering Department, University of
Hawaii at Mano’a (August 1998 – December 1999)
n BS degree from Automation Department, Tsinghua University,
P.R. China (September 1993 – June 1998)
l Goal
n Research oriented position in advanced networking

IREAN Research Workshop 3 April 25-26, 2003

 Mobile Ad-hoc Networks (MANETs)
l A mobile ad-hoc network (MANET) is usually formed by
mobile nodes using wireless communications
n Receiving attention due to many potential military and civilian
applications
l A MANET uses peer-to-peer multi-hop routing instead of
a static network infrastructure to provide network
connectivity
n The topology of a MANET is unpredictable

Host 3
Moves

Host 3
Host 1 Host 2 Host 3

IREAN Research Workshop 4 April 25-26, 2003

 MANET Routing
l Since traditional wired network routing protocols cannot
be used directly in MANETs, many new routing protocols
have been proposed
n A standard is not yet defined
l Previous research focused on design, comparison, and
improvement of MANET protocols
n Methodologies used to characterize different protocols and to
simulate/emulate MANETs are important
n Such methodologies are not well developed

IREAN Research Workshop 5 April 25-26, 2003

 Motivation and Research Goals
l My research focuses on
n Methods and tools for evaluation of MANET routing protocols
n An improved MANET routing protocol (that is well suited for a
Navy application)
l Goals for improving methodologies for evaluation of
MANET routing protocols
n Characterize different MANET routing protocols and locate the
factors that affect control overhead
u Predict trends of control overhead when the network

environment changes
u Improve existing routing protocols or design new protocols with

emphasis on control overhead (and provide an instance)

n Improve simulation models, especially for mobility
n Develop a MANET emulator based on wired links

IREAN Research Workshop 6 April 25-26, 2003

 Preliminary Results
l Characterization of overhead in MANET routing protocols
l Investigation and improvement of simulation models
l Development of a dynamic switch for emulation of
MANET topologies

IREAN Research Workshop 7 April 25-26, 2003

 Characterizing Overhead*
l Developed a framework for MANET routing protocols that
can…
n Characterize overhead in new and existing protocols
n Provide insight into protocols
n Highlight relationships among different protocols
n Be used to develop an analytical model to identify factors that
affect control overhead
l Developed an analytical model using the framework to
identify factors that affect control overhead in MANET
routing protocols
n Applications include an improved MANET routing protocol and a
new MANET routing protocol
* Presented at the 2002 lREAN Research Workshop
IREAN Research Workshop 8 April 25-26, 2003
 Improving Simulation Models
l Studied the random waypoint (RW) mobility model
l Studied group mobility models, such as reference point
group mobility (RPGM) model
l Quantitative study of link stability in MANET systems

IREAN Research Workshop 9 April 25-26, 2003

 Random Waypoint Model
l Description
l Disadvantage
n The relationships between link stability and model parameters
(maximum moving speed, pause time, and radio range) are not
clear
n The model may require a long warm up time (more later)
n Simulations with this model may require long computation time
since the simulator must first compute locations of nodes and then
decide connectivity of pairs of nodes

3. Move
2. Pause t sec

1. Move

IREAN Research Workshop 10 April 25-26, 2003

 Two-state Markov Connectivity Model
l The two-state Markov connectivity (TMC) model is an
alternative to a standard node mobility model
n A link is in the UP (or DOWN) state if its two end nodes can (or
cannot) communicate with each other
n A random distribution is assigned to the lifetime of the link
remaining in the UP (or DOWN) state for each potential link

P(DOWN|UP)

P(UP|UP) UP DOWN P(DOWN|DOWN)

P(UP|DOWN)

IREAN Research Workshop 11 April 25-26, 2003

 RW Model vs. TMC Model (1)
l Average link UP and DOWN lifetimes with the RW model
Avg. Link UP Lifetime (Sec)

Avg. Link DOWN Lifetime

140
25
120
20 100

(Sec)
15 80
Avg.+ 95% Condidence Interval Avg.+ 95% Condidence Interval
10 60
Avg. Link Lifetime Avg. Link Lifetime
40
5 Avg. - 95% Condidence Interval Avg. - 95% Condidence Interval
20
0 0
500
42,500
84,500
126,500
168,500
210,500
252,500
294,500
336,500
378,500
420,500
462,500

500
46,000
91,500
137,000
182,500
228,000
273,500

319,000
364,500
410,000
455,500
Simulation Time (Sec) Simulation Time (Sec)

IREAN Research Workshop 12 April 25-26, 2003

 RW Model vs. TMC Model (2)
l Average Link UP and DOWN lifetimes with the TMC
model
n Note that values are similar to those for the RW model, but
convergence to a stable operating point is much slower
Avg. Link UP Lifetime (Sec)

Avg. Link DOWN Lifetime

140
25
120
20 100

(Sec)
15 80
10 60
40
5
20
0 0
500
44,500
88,500
132,500
176,500
220,500
264,500

308,500
352,500
396,500
440,500
484,500

500
48,500
96,500
144,500
192,500
240,500
288,500
336,500
384,500
432,500
480,500
Simulation Time (Sec) Simulation Time (Sec)

IREAN Research Workshop 13 April 25-26, 2003

 RW Model vs. TMC Model (3)
l Computation time using two models with ns-2
Computation Time (Sec)

200
Tw o-state Markov Model
150
Random WayPoint Model
100

50

0
0
00

00

00

00

00

00

00

00
50
10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45
Simulation Time (Sec)

IREAN Research Workshop 14 April 25-26, 2003

 Reference Point Group Mobility Model
l Description
l Problem: Unrealistically high speeds for individual nodes
are generated because of the model’s definition

d(N_s, N_d)

d_m d(O1, O2) d_m

S d
S_max x T
α
N_s N_d
O1 OO22 O1 O2
S D
D

V_center=d(O1, O2)/T
V_node_max=d(N_ s, N_d)/T=V_center+2d_m/T

IREAN Research Workshop 15 April 25-26, 2003

 Quantitative Study of Link Stability (1)
l Motivation
n Different kinds of mobility models are used for evaluation of
MANET systems
u Parameters are defined to describe node movement – link

connectivity is examined during run time

u System performance is usually compared with respect to a

specific mobility parameter (e.g., maximum pause time or

maximum speed)
n Link stability may be helpful for MANET simulation models
n Link stability may be used to estimate path lifetime
u Hope to apply this to improve route quality

n Therefore, we will study relationships between link stability (such

as link lifetime and link change rate) and mobility model
parameters

IREAN Research Workshop 16 April 25-26, 2003

 Quantitative Study of Link Stability (2)
l Link lifetime model

Link State
B'
B" 3
ON
A C
T
t' off
t 4
T D
on
5 1
OFF 2
P123 + P 45 = 1
P1 + P2 + P3 = 1
P4 + P5 = 1
P123 P3 + P45 P4 = P45
P123 (P1+P2) + P45 P5 = P123
IREAN Research Workshop 17 April 25-26, 2003
 Quantitative Study of Link Stability (3)

0.035
0.03-0.035
0.03
0.025-0.03
0.02-0.025 0.025
0.015-0.02
0.02 Link Change
0.01-0.015
0.005-0.01 0.015 Rate (1/s)
0-0.005 0.01
0.005
0
33
27

10
21

30
15

50
Max. Speed (m/s)
70
9

Max. Pause Time

90
3

(s)

IREAN Research Workshop 18 April 25-26, 2003

 Quantitative Study of Link Stability (4)
0.06

0.05

0.04

Link Change
0.03
Rate (1/s)

0.02 0.05-0.06
0.04-0.05
0.01 0.03-0.04
0.02-0.03
0 0.01-0.02

10
Max. Speed

30
27

50 0-0.01
70
90

(m/s)
15

110
130
150
170
3

Radio Range (m)

IREAN Research Workshop 19 April 25-26, 2003

 MANET Topology Emulation (1)
l Objective is to emulate topology changes in a MANET
using a dynamic switch with wired links
Host 1

1
Dynamic Switch
Host 1 Host 2 Host 3
2 3

Host 3 Host 2 Host 3

Moves
Incoming
1 2 3
Port
Host 3
Outgoing 1
Host 1 Host 2 2 2
Port(s) 3
3 1

IREAN Research Workshop 20 April 25-26, 2003

 MANET Topology Emulation (2)
l Packet loss scheme implemented in the dynamic switch
l Constrained link capacity implemented in the dynamic
switch

IREAN Research Workshop 21 April 25-26, 2003

 Multidisciplinary Aspects
l Deeper understanding of simulation techniques can assist
in developing efficient, high fidelity models of MANETs
l MANETs can be applied to many application
environments, including both military and civilian systems
n Soldiers, tanks, and helicopters in a battlefield
n Scholars exchange papers at a conference site
n Rescue teams at a disaster area
n “Smart mines”
n Sensor network
l Once the techniques for MANETs, including routing, QoS,
and security protocols, are mature enough, there will be a
promising market for MANET products

IREAN Research Workshop 22 April 25-26, 2003

 Summary
l Developed a framework to characterize MANET routing protocols and
developed an analytical model to identify factors that affect control
overhead
n Improved an existing protocol – OLSR
n Designed a new protocol – OSPF-MCDS
l Studied MANET mobility models
n RW and RPGM models
n Quantitative study of link stability
l Developed a a dynamic switch to emulate the dynamic topology of a
MANET with wired links
l Future work
n Continue to improve “benchmarks” for evaluation of MANET systems
n Use improved “benchmarks” to compare different MANET routing
protocols
n Finish my Ph.D. dissertation and pass the final defense
IREAN Research Workshop 23 April 25-26, 2003
 Publications
[1] T. Lin, S. F. Midkiff, and J. S. Park, "A Framework for Wireless Ad Hoc
Routing Protocols," in Proc. of IEEE Wireless Communications and
Networking Conference (WCNC), 2003.
[2] T. Lin, S. F. Midkiff, and J. S. Park, "Approximation Algorithms for Minimal
Connected Dominating Sets and Application with Routing protocol in
Wireless Ad Hoc Network," in Proc. of IEEE International Performance
Computing and Communications Conference (IPCCC), 2003, pp. 157-164.
[3] T. Lin and S. F. Midkiff, "Mobility versus Link Stability in Simulation of Mobile
Ad Hoc Networks," in Proc. of Communication Networks and Distributed
Systems Modeling and Simulation Conference, 2003, pp. 3-8.
[4] T. Lin, S. F. Midkiff, and J. S. Park, "A Dynamic Topology Switch for the
Emulation of Wireless Ad Hoc Networks Using a Wired Network," in Proc. of
IEEE Local Computer Network (Wireless Local Network Workshop), 2002,
pp. 791-798.

IREAN Research Workshop 24 April 25-26, 2003