Thesis--Auburn University, 2008. / Abstract. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. 45-48).

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Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) are now widely used in many applications. Connected Dominating Set (CDS) based routing which is one kind of hierarchical methods has received more attention to reduce routing overhead. The concept of k-connected m-dominating sets (kmCDS) is used to provide fault tolerance and routing flexibility. In this thesis, we first consider how to construct a CDS in WSNs. After that, centralized and distributed algorithms are proposed to construct a kmCDS. Moreover, we introduce some basic ideas of how to use CDS in other potential applications such as partial coverage and data dissemination in WSNs.

Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) are now widely used for monitoring and controlling of systems where human intervention is not desirable or possible. Connected Dominating Sets (CDSs) based topology control in WSNs is one kind of hierarchical method to ensure sufficient coverage while reducing redundant connections in a relatively crowded network. Moreover, Minimum-sized Connected Dominating Set (MCDS) has become a well-known approach for constructing a Virtual Backbone (VB) to alleviate the broadcasting storm for efficient routing in WSNs extensively. However, no work considers the load-balance factor of CDSsin WSNs. In this dissertation, we first propose a new concept — the Load-Balanced CDS (LBCDS) and a new problem — the Load-Balanced Allocate Dominatee (LBAD) problem. Consequently, we propose a two-phase method to solve LBCDS and LBAD one by one and a one-phase Genetic Algorithm (GA) to solve the problems simultaneously. Secondly, since there is no performance ratio analysis in previously mentioned work, three problems are investigated and analyzed later. To be specific, the MinMax Degree Maximal Independent Set (MDMIS) problem, the Load-Balanced Virtual Backbone (LBVB) problem, and the MinMax Valid-Degree non Backbone node Allocation (MVBA) problem. Approximation algorithms and comprehensive theoretical analysis of the approximation factors are presented in the dissertation. On the other hand, in the current related literature, networks are deterministic where two nodes are assumed either connected or disconnected. In most real applications, however, there are many intermittently connected wireless links called lossy links, which only provide probabilistic connectivity. For WSNs with lossy links, we propose a Stochastic Network Model (SNM). Under this model, we measure the quality of CDSs using CDS reliability. In this dissertation, we construct an MCDS while its reliability is above a preset applicationspecified threshold, called Reliable MCDS (RMCDS). We propose a novel Genetic Algorithm (GA) with immigrant schemes called RMCDS-GA to solve the RMCDS problem. Finally, we apply the constructed LBCDS to a practical application under the realistic SNM model, namely data aggregation. To be specific, a new problem, Load-Balanced Data Aggregation Tree (LBDAT), is introduced finally. Our simulation results show that the proposed algorithms outperform the existing state-of-the-art approaches significantly.

A mobile ad hoc network consists of certain nodes that communicate only through wireless medium and can move arbitrarily. The key feature of a mobile ad hoc network is the mobility of the nodes. Because of the mobility, communication links form and disappear as nodes come into and go out of each other's communica- tion range. Mobile ad hoc networks are particularly useful in situations like disaster recovery and search, military operations, etc. Research on mobile ad hoc networks has drawn a huge amount of attention recently. The main challenges for mobile ad hoc networks are the sparse resources and frequent mobility. Most of the research work has been focused on the MAC and routing layer. In this work, we focus on distributed services for mobile ad hoc networks. These services will provide some fundamental functions in developing various applications for mobile ad hoc networks. In particular, we focus on the clock synchronization, connected dominating set, and k-mutual exclusion problems in mobile ad hoc networks.

A connected dominating set D is a set of vertices of a graph G=(V,E) such that every vertex in V-D is adjacent to at least one vertex in D and the subgraph induced by the set D is connected. The connected domination number is the minimum of the cardinalities of the connected dominating sets of G. The problem of finding a minimum connected dominating set D is known to be NP-hard. Many polynomial time algorithms that achieve some approximation factors have been provided earlier in finding a minimum connected dominating set. In this work, we present a survey on known properties of graph domination as well as some approximation algorithms. We implemented some of these algorithms and tested them with random graphs and compared their performance in finding a minimum connected dominating set D.

Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN) offer a flexible low-cost solution to the problem of event monitoring, especially in places with limited accessibility or that represent danger to humans. WSNs are made of resource-constrained wireless devices, which require energy efficient mechanisms, algorithms and protocols. One of these mechanisms is Topology Control (TC) composed of two mechanisms, Topology Construction and Topology Maintenance. This dissertation expands the knowledge of TC in many ways. First, it introduces a comprehensive taxonomy for topology construction and maintenance algorithms for the first time. Second, it includes four new topology construction protocols: A3, A3Lite, A3Cov and A3LiteCov. These protocols reduce the number of active nodes by building a Connected Dominating Set (CDS) and then turning off unnecessary nodes. The A3 and A3-Lite protocols guarantee a connected reduced structure in a very energy efficient manner. The A3Cov and A3LiteCov protocols are extensions of their predecessors that increase the sensing coverage of the network. All these protocols are distributed -they do not require localization information, and present low message and computational complexity. Third, this dissertation also includes and evaluates the performance of four topology maintenance protocols: Recreation (DGTRec), Rotation (SGTRot), Rotation and Recreation (HGTRotRec), and Dynamic Local-DSR (DLDSR). Finally, an event-driven simulation tool named Atarraya was developed for teaching, researching and evaluating topology control protocols, which fills a need in the area of topology control that other simulators cannot. Atarraya was used to implement all the topology construction and maintenance cited, and to evaluate their performance. The results show that A3Lite produces a similar number of active nodes when compared to A3, while spending less energy due to its lower message complexity. A3Cov and A3CovLite show better or similar coverage than the other distributed protocols discussed here, while preserving the connectivity and energy efficiency from A3 and A3Lite. In terms of network lifetime, depending on the scenarios, it is shown that there can be a substantial increase in the network lifetime of 450% when a topology construction method is applied, and of 3200% when both topology construction and maintenance are applied, compared to the case where no topology control is used.

A mobile ad hoc network (MANET) is a wireless network that uses multi-hop peer-to-peer routing instead of static network infrastructure to provide network connectivity. MANETs have applications in rapidly deployed and dynamic military and civilian systems. The network topology in a MANET usually changes with time. Therefore, there are new challenges for routing protocols in MANETs since traditional routing protocols may not be suitable for MANETs. For example, some assumptions used by these protocols are not valid in MANETs or some protocols cannot efficiently handle topology changes. Researchers are designing new MANET routing protocols and comparing and improving existing MANET routing protocols before any routing protocols are standardized using simulations. However, the simulation results from different research groups are not consistent with each other. This is because of a lack of consistency in MANET routing protocol models and application environments, including networking and user traffic profiles. Therefore, the simulation scenarios are not equitable for all protocols and conclusions cannot be generalized. Furthermore, it is difficult for one to choose a proper routing protocol for a given MANET application. According to the aforementioned issues, my Ph.D. research focuses on MANET routing protocols. Specifically, my contributions include the characterization of differ- ent routing protocols using a novel systematic relay node set (RNS) framework, design of a new routing protocol for MANETs, a study of node mobility, including a quantitative study of link lifetime in a MANET and an adaptive interval scheme based on a novel neighbor stability criterion, improvements of a widely-used network simulator and corresponding protocol implementations, design and development of a novel emulation test bed, evaluation of MANET routing protocols through simulations, verification of our routing protocol using emulation, and development of guidelines for one to choose proper MANET routing protocols for particular MANET applications. Our study shows that reactive protocols do not always have low control overhead, as people tend to think. The control overhead for reactive protocols is more sensitive to the traffic load, in terms of the number of traffic flows, and mobility, in terms of link connectivity change rates, than other protocols. Therefore, reactive protocols may only be suitable for MANETs with small number of traffic loads and small link connectivity change rates. We also demonstrated that it is feasible to maintain full network topology in a MANET with low control overhead. This dissertation summarizes all the aforementioned methodologies and corresponding applications we developed concerning MANET routing protocols. / Ph. D.

Dans le cadre des réseaux ad hoc à grande envergure, le concept de clusterisation peut être mis à profit afin de faire face aux problèmes de passage à l'échelle et d'accroître les performances du système. Tout d’abord, cette thèse présente notre algorithme de clusterisation TBCA ‘Tiered based Clustering algorithm’, ayant pour objectif d’organiser le processus de clusterisation en couches et de réduire au maximum le trafic de contrôle associé à la phase d’établissement et de maintenance de l’infrastructure virtuelle générée. La formation et la maintenance d’une infrastructure virtuelle ne sont pas une fin en soi. Dans cet axe, on a exploité les apports de notre mécanisme de clusterisation conjointement avec le mode veille, à travers la proposition de l’approche de conservation d’énergie baptisée CPPCM ‘Cluster based Prioritized Power Conservation Mechanism’ avec deux variantes. Notre objectif principal est de réduire la consommation d’énergie tout en assurant l’acheminement des paquets de données sans endurer des temps d’attente importants aux niveaux des files d’attente des nœuds impliqués dans le transfert. Nous avons proposé aussi un algorithme de routage LCR ‘Layered Cluster based Routing’ se basant sur l’existence d’une infrastructure virtuelle. L’exploitation des apports de notre mécanisme TBCA et la limitation des tâches de routage additionnelles à un sous ensemble de nœuds sont des atouts pour assurer le passage à l’échelle de notre algorithme. / Relying on a virtual infrastructure seems a promising approach to overcome the scalability problem in large scale ad hoc networks. First, we propose a clustering mechanism, TBCA ‘Tiered based Clustering algorithm’, operating in a layered manner and exploiting the eventual collision to accelerate the clustering process. Our mechanism does not necessitate any type of neighbourhood knowledge, trying to alleviate the network from some control messages exchanged during the clustering and maintenance process. Since the energy consumption is still a critical issue, we combining a clustering technique and the power saving mode in order to conserve energy without affecting network performance. The main contribution of our power saving approach lies on the differentiation among packets based on the amount of network resources they have been so far consumed. Besides, the proposed structure of the beacon interval can be adjusted dynamically and locally by each node according to its own specific requirements. We propose also a routing algorithm, LCR ‘Layered Cluster based Routing’. The basic idea consists on assigning additional tasks to a limited set of dominating nodes, satisfying specific requirements while exploiting the benefits of our clustering algorithm TBCA.

A mobile ad-hoc network (MANET) is a collection of wireless mobile nodes forming a temporary network without the support of any established infrastructure or centralized administration. There are many potential applications based the techniques of MANETs, such as disaster rescue, personal area networking, wireless conference, military applications, etc. MANETs face a number of challenges for designing a scalable routing protocol due to their natural characteristics. Guaranteeing delivery and the capability to handle dynamic connectivity are the most important issues for routing protocols in MANETs. In this dissertation, we will propose four algorithms that address different aspects of routing problems in MANETs. Firstly, in position based routing protocols to design a scalable location management scheme is inherently difficult. Enhanced Scalable Location management Service (EnSLS) is proposed to improve the scalability of existing location management services, and a mathematical model is proposed to compare the performance of the classical location service, GLS, and our protocol, EnSLS. The analytical model shows that EnSLS has better scalability compared with that of GLS. Secondly, virtual backbone routing can reduce communication overhead and speedup the routing process compared with many existing on-demand routing protocols for routing detection. In many studies, Minimum Connected Dominating Set (MCDS) is used to approximate virtual backbones in a unit-disk graph. However finding a MCDS is an NP-hard problem. In the dissertation, we develop two new pure localized protocols for calculating the CDS. One emphasizes forming a small size initial near-optimal CDS via marking process, and the other uses an iterative synchronized method to avoid illegal simultaneously removal of dominating nodes. Our new protocols largely reduce the number of nodes in CDS compared with existing methods. We show the efficiency of our approach through both theoretical analysis and simulation experiments. Finally, using multiple redundant paths for routing is a promising solution. However, selecting an optimal path set is an NP hard problem. We propose the Genetic Fuzzy Multi-path Routing Protocol (GFMRP), which is a multi-path routing protocol based on fuzzy set theory and evolutionary computing.