Message complexity analysis of mobile ad hoc network (MANET) address autoconfiguration protocols

Abstract

Scope and Method of Study: Wireless communication systems continue to show rapid growth as a result of significant advancements in digital modulation technologies, network protocol development, and microprocessor technologies. Mobile ad hoc networks (MANETs) are self-organizing wireless networks where the mobile nodes have routing capabilities to be able to forward packets to communicate with one another over multi-hop wireless links without any fixed communication infrastructure. This dissertation presents a technical review of several MANET routing protocols based on their messages. In addition, a novel method to perform a quantitative analysis of the message complexity among the MANET address autoconfiguration protocols has been proposed. The upper bound of messages has been derived and justified through computer simulation. In reference to different conflict probabilities, a comparison among the IP address autoconfiguration protocols for MANETs has been conducted.

Findings and Conclusions: The first objective of the executed research is to complete the address autoconfiguration protocols by filling in all the missing gaps to make them operational. The missing procedures that were filled in have been developed based on the most logical procedures being faithful to the original protocol publications. In this dissertation, the upper bound of the message complexity of the IP address autoconfiguration protocols for MANETs is derived. To obtain the upper bound of the message complexity of the protocols, the O-notation of a MANET group of N nodes has been investigated. To asymptotically calculate the total number of messages generated by a protocol's step or procedure, an investigation on the nodes broadcasting, unicasting, relaying, and receiving messages is computed and used in obtaining the upper bound of the message complexity for each protocol.