Research Article

On the effect of user mobility and density on the performance of protocols for ad-hoc mobile networks

  1. Ioannis Chatzigiannakis1,
  2. Elena Kaltsa2,
  3. Sotiris E. Nikoletseas1,2,*

Article first published online: 8 SEP 2004

DOI: 10.1002/wcm.232

Issue

Wireless Communications and Mobile Computing

Wireless Communications and Mobile Computing

Special Issue: Special Issue: Mobility Management in Wireless and Mobile Networks

Volume 4, Issue 6, pages 609–621, September 2004

Additional Information

How to Cite

Chatzigiannakis, I., Kaltsa, E. and Nikoletseas, S. E. (2004), On the effect of user mobility and density on the performance of protocols for ad-hoc mobile networks. Wireless Communications and Mobile Computing, 4: 609–621. doi: 10.1002/wcm.232

Author Information

  1. 1

    Computer Technology Institute (CTI), P.O. Box 1122, 261 10 Patras, Greece

  2. 2

    Department of Computer Engineering and Informatics, University of Patras, 26500 Patras, Greece

*Computer Technology Institute (CTI), P.O. Box 1122, 261 10 Patras, Greece.

Publication History

  1. Issue published online: 8 SEP 2004
  2. Article first published online: 8 SEP 2004

Funded by

  • IST Programme of the European Union. Grant Numbers: IST-1999-14186 (ALCOM-FT), IST-2001-33116 (FLAGS)

SEARCH

SEARCH BY CITATION

ARTICLE TOOLS

Get PDF (351K)

Keywords:

  • ad-hoc mobile networks;
  • routing protocols;
  • user mobility;
  • user density;
  • performance evaluation;
  • experiments

Abstract

In this paper, we demonstrate the significant impact of (a) the mobility rate and (b) the user density on the performance of routing protocols in ad-hoc mobile networks. In particular, we study the effect of these parameters on two different approaches for designing routing protocols: (a) the route creation and maintenance approach and (b) the ‘support’ approach that forces few hosts to move, acting as ‘helpers’ for message delivery. We study one representative protocol for each approach, i.e. AODV for the first approach and RUNNERS for the second. We have implemented the two protocols and performed a large scale and detailed simulation study of their performance. The main findings are: the AODV protocol behaves well in networks of high user density and low mobility rate, while its performance drops for sparse networks of highly mobile users. On the other hand, the RUNNERS protocol seems to tolerate well (and in fact benefit from) high mobility rates and low densities. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Get PDF (351K)