Simulation of Algorithms for Mobile Ad-Hoc Networks
Joaquim Magalhães Esteves da Silva · Open Repository of the University of Porto (University of Porto) · 2015
The popularity of mobile gadgets, whether Smartphones, Tablets or others, has increased to a point in which their number is said to have surpassed the number of people. This has made the formation of mobile ad-hoc networks an appealing and popular functionality, particularly in situations in which Internet or even Wi-Fi access may have been restrained or fully closed. The Hyrax project is a good example of an initiative to promote similar functionalities to users as it aims to build computing edge clouds from the crowd-sourcing of mobile devices. This is of special interest in large gatherings of people such is the case in sports venues. The density of devices stresses available infrastructures, thus impacting all users in their use of Wi-Fi connections to access Internet, social networks, or the feeds of game replays. To envisage such goals, one needs to fully understand the potential and limitations of available deviceto-device communications technologies. The main goal of this dissertation is to study the advantages and the limitations of current wireless communication technologies, namely Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi Direct, TDLS, and Bluetooth. This is of special interest when the number of devices increases significantly. To accomplish our goal, a set of use cases and scenarios were prepared, real experiments were performed to gather data that could allow us to instrument a simulator to take the study further. We instrumented a NS-3 simulator in order to create realistic experiments on the scalability of the different wireless technologies that could allow us to draw conclusions. Experiments were prepared, both to involve the use of distinct network overlays to organize mobile devices and distinct replication strategies. We also study the effect of exchanging Wi-Fi connections to a potentially saturated access point by having local communications via Wi-Fi Direct or TDLS.