On the lifetime of node-to-node communication in wireless ad hoc networks

Lifetime of node-to-node communication in a wireless ad hoc network is defined as the duration that two nodes can communicate with each other. Failure of the two nodes or failure of the last available route between them ends their communication. In this paper, we analyze the maximum lifetime of node-to-node communication in static ad hoc networks when alternative routes that keep the two nodes connected to each other are node-disjoint. We target ad hoc networks with random topology modeled as a random geometric graph. The analysis is provided for (1) networks that support automatic repeat request (ARQ) at the medium access control level and (2) networks that do not support ARQ. On the basis of this analysis, we propose numerical algorithms to predict at each moment of network operation, the maximum duration that two nodes can still communicate with each other. Then, we derive a closed-form expression for the expected value of maximum node-to-node communication lifetime in the network. As a byproduct of our analysis, we also derive upper and lower bounds on the lifetime of node-disjoint routes in static ad hoc networks. We verify the accuracy of our analysis using extensive simulation studies.