Design and Performance Analysis of Genetic Algorithms for Topology Control Problems

In this dissertation, we present a bio-inspired decentralized topology control mechanism, called force-based genetic algorithm (FGA), where a genetic algorithm (GA) is run by each autonomous mobile node to achieve a uniform spread of mobile nodes and to provide a fully connected network over an unknown area. We present a formal analysis of FGA in terms of convergence speed, uniformity at area coverage, and Lyapunov stability theorem. This dissertation emphasizes the use of mobile nodes to achieve a uniform distribution over an unknown terrain without a priori information and a central control unit. In contrast, each mobile node running our FGA has to make its own movement direction and speed decisions based on local neighborhood information, such as obstacles and the number of neighbors, without a centralized control unit or global knowledge. We have implemented simulation software in Java and developed four different testbeds to study the effectiveness of different GA-based topology control frameworks for network performance metrics including node density, speed, and the number of generations that GAs run. The stochastic behavior of FGA, like all GA-based approaches, makes it difficult to analyze its convergence speed. We built metrically transitive homogeneous and inhomogeneous Markov chain models to analyze the convergence of our FGA with respect to the communication ranges of mobile nodes and the total number of nodes in the system. The Dobrushin contraction coefficient of ergodicity is used for measuring convergence speed for homogeneous and inhomogeneous Markov chain models of our FGA. Furthermore, convergence characteristic analysis helps us to choose the nearoptimal values for communication range, the number of mobile nodes, and the mean node degree before sending autonomous mobile nodes to any mission. Our analytical and experimental results show that our FGA delivers promising results for uniform mobile node distribution over unknown terrains. Since our FGA adapts to local environment rapidly and does not require global network knowledge, it can be used as a real-time topology controller for commercial and military applications

Game Theory Approaches in Taxonomy of Intrusion Detection for MANETs

MANETs are self configuring networks that are formed by a set of wireless mobile nodes and have no fixed network infrastructure nor administrative support. Since transmission range of wireless network interfaces is limited, forwarding hosts may be needed. Each node in a wireless ad hoc network functions is as both a host and a router. Due to their communication type and resources constraint, MANETs are vulnerable to diverse types of attacks and intrusions so, security is a critical issue. Network security is usually provided in the three phases: intrusion prevention, intrusion detection and intrusion tolerance phase. However, the network security problem is far from completely solved. Researchers have been exploring the applicability of game theory approaches to address the network security issues. This paper reviews some existing game theory solutions which are designed to enhance network security in the intrusion detection phase. Keywords: Mobile Ad hoc Network (MANET), Intrusion detection system (IDS), Cluster head, host based, Game theory

A Meta- Analysis on Mobile Ad-Hoc Networks (MANET) Performance Issues

With the advancement of technology and wireless communications, Mobile Ad-hoc Networks (MANETs) have increasingly been the subject of investigation for researches. Mobile Ad Hoc Networks (MANETs) has become one of the most prevalent areas of research in the recent years because of the challenges it pose to the related protocols. “MANET is the new emerging technology which enables users to communicate without any physical infrastructure regardless of their geographical location, that’s why it is sometimes referred to as an ―infrastructure less network” [1]. “A mobile ad hoc network is an autonomous collection of mobile devices (laptops, smart phones, sensors, etc.) that communicate with each other over wireless links and cooperate in a distributed manner in order to provide the necessary network functionality in the absence of a fixed infrastructure” [2]. The purpose of this study is to assess some performance issues and challenges of mobile ad-hoc networks on a given set of metrics and protocols.  The output of which is a MANET paradigm as a result of the performance evaluation under given circumstances. A paradigm was developed based on previous studies under similar subject matter. Keywords: Mobile Ad-hoc Network, metric, protocols, paradig

Virtual Communication Stack: Towards Building Integrated Simulator of Mobile Ad Hoc Network-based Infrastructure for Disaster Response Scenarios

Responses to disastrous events are a challenging problem, because of possible damages on communication infrastructures. For instance, after a natural disaster, infrastructures might be entirely destroyed. Different network paradigms were proposed in the literature in order to deploy adhoc network, and allow dealing with the lack of communications. However, all these solutions focus only on the performance of the network itself, without taking into account the specificities and heterogeneity of the components which use it. This comes from the difficulty to integrate models with different levels of abstraction. Consequently, verification and validation of adhoc protocols cannot guarantee that the different systems will work as expected in operational conditions. However, the DEVS theory provides some mechanisms to allow integration of models with different natures. This paper proposes an integrated simulation architecture based on DEVS which improves the accuracy of ad hoc infrastructure simulators in the case of disaster response scenarios.Comment: Preprint. Unpublishe

A Trustful Routing Protocol for Ad-hoc Network

Mobile Ad-hoc Network (MANET) is a wireless system that comprises mobile nodes. It is usually referred to a decentralized autonomous system. Self configurability and easy deployment feature of the MANET resulted in numerous applications in this modern era. Its routing protocol has to be able to cope with the new challenges that a MANET creates such as nodes mobility, security maintenance, and quality of service, limited bandwidth and limited power supply. These challenges set new demands on MANET routing protocols. With the increasing interest in MANETs, there has been a greater focus on the subject of securing such networks. However, the majority of these MANET secure routing protocols did not provide a complete solution for all the MANETs2019; attacks and assumed that any node participating in the MANET is not selfish and that it will cooperate to support different network functionalities. My thesis strategy is to choose one of the secure routing protocols According to its security-effectiveness, study it and analyze its functionality and performance. The authenticated routing for ad hoc networks (ARAN) secure routing protocol was chosen for analysis. Then, the different existing cooperation enforcement schemes were surveyed so that to come up with a reputation-based scheme to integrate with the ARAN protocol. The result of that integration is called: Trustful-ARAN. Consequently, the ARAN is capable of handling both selfish and malicious nodes2019; attacks. The improvement is obtained at the cost of a higher overhead percentage with minimal increase in the average number of hops. The Trustful-ARAN proves to be more efficient and more secure than normal ARAN secure routing protocol in defending against both malicious and authenticated selfish nodes

Factors Impacting Key Management Effectiveness in Secured Wireless Networks

The use of a Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) offers a cryptographic solution that can overcome many, but not all, of the MANET security problems. One of the most critical aspects of a PKI system is how well it implements Key Management. Key Management deals with key generation, key storage, key distribution, key updating, key revocation, and certificate service in accordance with security policies over the lifecycle of the cryptography. The approach supported by traditional PKI works well in fixed wired networks, but it may not appropriate for MANET due to the lack of fixed infrastructure to support the PKI. This research seeks to identify best practices in securing networks which may be applied to new network architectures