Simulation-Based Analysis of Topology Control Algorithms for Wireless Ad Hoc Networks

Topology control aims at optimizing throughput and energy consumption of wireless networks by adjusting transmission powers or by restricting the communication to a well-chosen subset of communication links. Over the years, a variety of topology control algorithms have been proposed. However, many of these algorithms have been mainly studied from a theoretical point of view. On the other hand, existing simulation-based studies often only compare few approaches based on rather simple simulations, e.g., abstracting from communication protocols. In this paper, we present a thorough study of a variety of topology control algorithms based on the methodology of algorithm engineering. To analyze achievable performance improvements for communication according to the IEEE 802.11g standard we use the ns-3 network simulator. In addition to analyzing the communication throughput, we also study the effects of topology control on the energy demand in the network. Based on our simulation results, we then identify properties of the computed topologies that are essential for the achieved improvements. The gained insights are finally used to motivate an extension of the well-known XTC algorithm, which enables significant performance improvements in the considered application scenario.