Modified Token Based Congestion Control Scheme for Opportunistic Networks

To address congestion issues in Opportunistic Networks (OppNets) a modified token-based congestion control with adaptive forwarding mechanism is proposed. The mechanism allows the network nodes holding a valid token to inject message into the network or other neighboring node. At the point of congestion, the algorithm has the potential to redirect the traffic from more congested node to congestion free node for the purpose of effective resource utilization and fairness in the network. Tokens are evenly distributed throughout the network. Using opportunistic network environment (ONE) simulator we illustrate the performance of modified token-based congestion control algorithm, which results in reduction for messages, and network transit time due to congestion across all the scenarios considered. At different queue sizes of (QS-10, QS-20, QS-30 and QS-40), modified token based congestion control algorithm has 13.91%, 10.71%, 5.46%, and 4.22% respectively reduction in dropped messages. In addition, at greatest connected component values of 50%, 60%, 70% and 80%, modified token-based congestion control has 8.34%, 2.19%, 4.61%, and 7.63% respectively decrease in network transit time. These results are substantial because they indicate a reduction in both network storage as well as time

Routing in delay tolerant networks with periodic connections

Ankara : The Department of Computer Engineering and the Institute of Engineering and Science of Bilkent University, 2010.Thesis (Master's) -- Bilkent University, 2010.Includes bibliographical references leaves 39-40.In delay tolerant networks (DTNs), the network may not be fully connected at any instance of time, but connections occurring between nodes at di erent times make the network connected through the entire time continuum. In such a case, traditional routing methods fail to operate as there are no contemporaneous end-to-end paths between sources and destinations. This study examines the routing in DTNs where connections arise in a periodic nature. Various levels of periodicity are analyzed to meet requirements of di erent network models. We propose various routing algorithms for periodic connections. Our proposed methods can nd routes that can guarantee earliest delivery and minimum hop count. We evaluate our routing schemes via extensive simulation experiments and also compare them to some other popular routing approaches proposed for delay tolerant networks. Our evaluations show the feasibility and e ectivenes of our schemes as alternative routing methods for delay tolerant networks.Mergenci, CemM.S

Optimal Cluster Head in DTN Routing Hierarchical Topology (DRHT)

In delay tolerant networking (DTN), nodes are autonomous and behave in an unpredictable way. Consequently, a control mechanism of topology is necessary. This mechanism should ensure the overall connectivity of the network taking into account nodes’ mobility. In this paper, we study the problem of data routing with an optimal delay in the bundle layer, by exploiting: the clustering, the messages ferries and the optimal election of cluster head (CH). We first introduce the DTN routing hierarchical topology (DRHT) which incorporates these three factors into the routing metric. We propose an optimal approach to elect a CH based on four criteria: the residual energy, the intra-cluster distance, the node degree and the head count of probable CHs. We proceed then to model a Markov decision process (MDP) to decide the optimal moment for sending data in order to ensure a higher delivery rate within a reasonable delay. At the end, we present the simulation results demonstrating the effectiveness of the DRHT. Our simulation shows that while using the DRHT which is based on the optimal election of CH, the traffic control during the TTL interval (Time To Live) is balanced, which greatly increases the delivery rate of bundles and decreases the loss rate

Towards Efficient File Sharing and Packet Routing in Mobile Opportunistic Networks

With the increasing popularity of portable digital devices (e.g., smartphones, laptops, and tablets), mobile opportunistic networks (MONs) [40, 90] consisting of portable devices have attracted much attention recently. MONs are also known as pocket switched networks (PSNs) [52]. MONs can be regarded as a special form of mobile ad hoc networks (MANETs) [7] or delay tolerant networks (DTNs) [35, 56]. In such networks, mobile nodes (devices) move continuously and meet opportunistically. Two mobile nodes can communicate with each other only when they are within the communication range of each other in a peer-to-peer (P2P) manner (i.e., without the need of infrastructures). Therefore, such a network structure can potentially provide file sharing or packet routing services among portable devices without the support of network infrastructures. On the other hand, mobile opportunistic networks often experience frequent network partition, and no end-to-end contemporaneous path can be ensured in the network. These distinctive properties make traditional file sharing or packet routing algorithms in Internet or mobile networks a formidable challenge in MONs. In summary, it is essential and important to achieve efficient file sharing and packet routing algorithms in MONs, which are the key for providing practical and novel services and applications over such networks. In this Dissertation, we develop several methods to resolve the aforementioned challenges. Firstly, we propose two methods to enhance file sharing efficiency in MONs by creating replicas and by leveraging social network properties, respectively. In the first method, we investigate how to create file replicas to optimize file availability for file sharing in MONs. We introduce a new concept of resource for file replication, which considers both node storage and meeting frequency with other nodes. We theoretically study the influence of resource allocation on the average file access delay and derive a resource allocation rule to minimize the average file access delay. We also propose a distributed file replication protocol to realize the deduced optimal file replication rule. In the second method, we leverage social network properties to improve the file searching efficiency in MONs. This method groups common-interest nodes that frequently meet with each other into a community. It takes advantage of node mobility by designating stable nodes, which have the most frequent contact with community members, as community coordinators for intra-community file request forwarding, and highly-mobile nodes that visit other communities frequently as community ambassadors for inter-community file request forwarding. Based on such a community structure, an interest-oriented file searching scheme is proposed to first search local community and then search the community that is most likely to contain the requested file, leading to highly efficient file sharing in MONs. Secondly, we propose two methods to realize efficient packet routing among mobile nodes and among different landmarks in MONs, respectively. The first method utilizes distributed social map to route packets to mobile nodes efficiently with a low-cost in MONs. Each node builds its own social map consisting of nodes it has met and their frequently encountered nodes in a distributed manner. Based on both encountering frequency and social closeness of two linked nodes in the social map, we decide the weight of each link to reflect the packet delivery ability between the two nodes. The social map enables more accurate forwarder selection through a broader view and reduces the cost on information exchange. The second method realizes high-throughput packet routing among different landmarks in MONs. It selects popular places that nodes visit frequently as landmarks and divides the entire MON area into sub-areas represented by landmarks. Nodes transiting between two landmarks relay packets between the two landmarks. The frequency of node transits between two landmarks is measured to represent the forwarding capacity between them, based on which routing tables are built on each landmark to guide packet routing. Finally, packets are routed landmark by landmark to reach their destination landmarks. Extensive analysis and real-trace based experiments are conducted to support the designs in this Dissertation and demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed methods in comparison with the state-of-art methods. In the future, we plan to further enhance the file sharing and packet routing efficiency by considering more realistic scenarios or including more useful information. We will also investigate the security and privacy issues in the proposed methods

Towards efficacy and efficiency in sparse delay tolerant networks

The ubiquitous adoption of portable smart devices has enabled a new way of communication via Delay Tolerant Networks (DTNs), whereby messages are routed by the personal devices carried by ever-moving people. Although a DTN is a type of Mobile Ad Hoc Network (MANET), traditional MANET solutions are ill-equipped to accommodate message delivery in DTNs due to the dynamic and unpredictable nature of people\u27s movements and their spatio-temporal sparsity. More so, such DTNs are susceptible to catastrophic congestion and are inherently chaotic and arduous. This manuscript proposes approaches to handle message delivery in notably sparse DTNs. First, the ChitChat system [69] employs the social interests of individuals participating in a DTN to accurately model multi-hop relationships and to make opportunistic routing decisions for interest-annotated messages. Second, the ChitChat system is hybridized [70] to consider both social context and geographic information for learning the social semantics of locations so as to identify worthwhile routing opportunities to destinations and areas of interest. Network density analyses of five real-world datasets is conducted to identify sparse datasets on which to conduct simulations, finding that commonly-used datasets in past DTN research are notably dense and well connected, and suggests two rarely used datasets are appropriate for research into sparse DTNs. Finally, the Catora system is proposed to address congestive-driven degradation of service in DTNs by accomplishing two simultaneous tasks: (i) expedite the delivery of higher quality messages by uniquely ordering messages for transfer and delivery, and (ii) avoid congestion through strategic buffer management and message removal. Through dataset-driven simulations, these systems are found to outperform the state-of-the-art, with ChitChat facilitating delivery in sparse DTNs and Catora unencumbered by congestive conditions --Abstract, page iv