Integrating the self-growing concept in a self-organizing wireless network for topology optimization

SUMMARY The concept of self-organizing networks is considered one of the most promising approaches for the efficient management of future wireless networks that will support a large number of nodes and a plethora of services with diverse characteristics. Today, different types of networks (e.g. WLANs, wireless sensor networks) are deployed to serve different needs but do not interoperate. Their possible loose integration will provide opportunities that could be exploited through collaborative approaches to devise novel solutions to extend the capabilities and improve the performance of these networks. The self-growing paradigm addresses this challenge by extending network nodes to dynamically evolve in terms of purpose and operational features. In this paper we describe the CONSERN architecture, which targets the realization of the self-growing concept in the context of self-organized networks. To test our ideas we designed and implemented a WLAN topology optimization scheme that provides the best coverage at a minimum energy consumption, through dynamic access point (AP) deactivation and reactivation. Using self-growing mechanisms and typical motion detectors we present how the operation of the proposed topology optimization mechanism can be improved. The reduced energy consumption attained under the proposed scheme at the AP side, as well as the efficient utilization of network resources, are evaluated via a proof-of-concept implementation that we have deployed in a real office environment that consists of WLAN APs and motion sensors. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.