END: a topology-aware collection metric for sensor networks

The performance of sensor network protocols is greatly affected by the network topology: the network layout, the link dynamics, and the sink placement. We propose the Expected Network Delivery (END), a protocol-independent collection metric that captures the impact of the topology on protocol performance. Our preliminary results with two collection protocols on various topologies on the MoteLab testbed show that the END metric enables a more systematic and topology-aware evaluation of protocol performance.