Capacity Enhancement using Throwboxes in DTNs

Disruption tolerant networks (DTNs) are designed to overcome limitations in connectivity due to conditions such as mobility, poor infrastructure, and short range radios. DTNs rely on the inherent mobility in the network to deliver packets around frequent and extended network partitions using a store-carry-and-forward paradigm. However, missed contact opportunities decrease throughput and increase delay in the network. We propose the use of throwboxes in mobile DTNs to create a greater number of contact opportunities, consequently improving the performance of the network. Throwboxes are wireless nodes that act as relays, creating additional contact opportunities in the DTN. We propose algorithms to deploy stationary throwboxes in the network that simultaneously consider routing as well as placement. We also present placement algorithms that use more limited knowledge about the network structure. We perform an extensive evaluation of our algorithms by varying both the underlying routing and mobility models. Our results suggest several findings to guide the design and operation of throwbox-augmented DTNs

[1]  Ravindra K. Ahuja,et al.  Network Flows: Theory, Algorithms, and Applications , 1993 .

[2]  Deepak Ganesan,et al.  Triage : A Power-Aware Software Architecture for Tiered Microservers , 2005 .

[3]  A. Hasson.  DakNet: A Road To Universal Broadband Connectivity Wireless Internet UN ICT Conference Case Study , 2003 .

[4]  Zygmunt J. Haas,et al.  The shared wireless infostation model: a new ad hoc networking paradigm (or where there is a whale, there is a way) , 2003, MobiHoc '03.

[5]  M. Brandeau,et al.  An overview of representative problems in location research , 1989 .

[6]  Ian F. Akyildiz,et al.  Wireless mesh networks: a survey , 2005, Comput. Networks.

[7]  James A. Davis,et al.  Wearable computers as packet transport mechanisms in highly-partitioned ad-hoc networks , 2001, Proceedings Fifth International Symposium on Wearable Computers.

[8]  Ellen W. Zegura,et al.  A message ferrying approach for data delivery in sparse mobile ad hoc networks , 2004, MobiHoc '04.

[9]  Qun Li,et al.  Sending messages to mobile users in disconnected ad-hoc wireless networks , 2000, MobiCom '00.

[10]  D.J. Goodman,et al.  INFOSTATIONS: a new system model for data and messaging services , 1997, 1997 IEEE 47th Vehicular Technology Conference. Technology in Motion.

[11]  Kevin R. Fall,et al.  A delay-tolerant network architecture for challenged internets , 2003, SIGCOMM '03.

[12]  Vinton G. Cerf,et al.  Delay-tolerant networking: an approach to interplanetary Internet , 2003, IEEE Commun. Mag..

[13]  David A. Maltz,et al.  Dynamic Source Routing in Ad Hoc Wireless Networks , 1994, Mobidata.

[14]  Ranveer Chandra,et al.  Optimizing the Placement of Integration Points in Multi-hop Wireless Networks , 2004 .

[15]  Waylon Brunette,et al.  Data MULEs: modeling a three-tier architecture for sparse sensor networks , 2003, Proceedings of the First IEEE International Workshop on Sensor Network Protocols and Applications, 2003..

[16]  J. Broch,et al.  Dynamic source routing in ad hoc wireless networks , 1998 .

[17]  Brian Gallagher,et al.  MaxProp: Routing for Vehicle-Based Disruption-Tolerant Networks , 2006, Proceedings IEEE INFOCOM 2006. 25TH IEEE International Conference on Computer Communications.

[18]  Oliver Brock,et al.  MV routing and capacity building in disruption tolerant networks , 2005, Proceedings IEEE 24th Annual Joint Conference of the IEEE Computer and Communications Societies..

[19]  Jianping Pan,et al.  Topology control for wireless sensor networks , 2003, MobiCom '03.

[20]  Yong Wang,et al.  Energy-efficient computing for wildlife tracking: design tradeoffs and early experiences with ZebraNet , 2002, ASPLOS X.

[21]  Brian Neil Levine,et al.  An Energy-Efficient Architecture for DTN Throwboxes , 2007, IEEE INFOCOM 2007 - 26th IEEE International Conference on Computer Communications.

[22]  Yang Chen,et al.  Capacity Enhancement Using Throw-Boxes in Mobile Delay Tolerant Networks , 2006 .

[23]  Lusheng Wang,et al.  Relay sensor placement in wireless sensor networks , 2008, Wirel. Networks.