Control & Performance Trade-offs in Multihop Wireless Networks

由于移动中的通信压力越来越大，未来的商业和军事通信网络很可能是全无线的，也可能是全移动的。这种网络在根本上不同于传统网络，因为它们可能不共享固定的、“有线”的通信基础设施。它们被称为“多跳无线网络”。它们可能是作为提供个人通信服务的替代手段出现的，也可能是作为“独立的”或与一般基础设施弱耦合的专门网络出现的。研究人员建议研究这些网络特有的基本操作和设计原则，并基于这些原则开发一个两级(两层)多跳体系结构的原型设计。具体地说，研究人员计划解决以下问题，并研究主要与网络体系结构中的第2-4层有关的相关性能权衡：a)哪些路由算法非常适合变化的连接环境？b)哪些地址和移动性管理方法合适？在这种情况下，它们是如何耦合到路由的？c)哪些多播方法是可能的？d)功率管理作为网络控制参数应该起什么作用以节省电池能量？e)在非对称网络体系结构中，`推送‘’和``拉‘’通信之间的基本权衡是什么？f)在信道损害条件下，路径分集对于可靠性和效率的最佳利用是什么？g)什么资源分配方法是合适的？通过利用其他支持，研究人员打算在现有的网络试验台中实施作为该调查的结果而开发的一些控制策略，并利用此经验帮助开发多跳无线网络的设计模型。该试验台位于马里兰大学系统研究所的混合网络实验室，利用该实验室现有的设备和人力资源设施。

All-wireless and, possibly, all-mobile communication networks are likely to operate in the future for both commercial and military applications, as a result of increasing pressure for communication while``on the move.'' Such networks differ from traditional ones in fundamental ways since they may not share the fixed, ``wired'' communication infrastructure. They are refereed to as ``multihop wireless networks".They may arise as alternative means of providing personal communication services, or as specialized networks that are ``stand-alone'' or are weakly coupled to the general infrastructure. The researchers propose to study the fundamental principles of operation and design that are unique to these networks,and to develop a prototype design for a bi-level (two tier) multihop architecture that will be based on these principles.Specifically, the researchers plan to address the following questions and to study the associated performance trade-offs that pertain mostly to layers 2-4 in the networking architecture:a) what routing algorithms are well-suited to variable connectivity environments?b) what address and mobility management methods are appropriate? how are they coupled to routing in this context?c) what multicasting methods are possible?d) what should be the role of power management as a network control parameter to conserve battery energy?e) what are the fundamental trade offs between ``push" and ``pull" communications in asymmetric network architectures?f) what is the best utilization of path diversity for reliability and efficiency under channel impairment conditions?g) what resource allocation approaches are appropriate?By leveraging other support, the researchers intend to implement some control policies developed as a result of this investigation in an existing network testbed, and use this experience as an aid in developing a design model for multihop wireless networks. This testbed exists in the Hybrid Networks Laboratory of the Institute for Systems Research at the University of Maryland and leverages the existing equipment and humanresource facilities available at the lab.