Analytical framework for the characterization of the link properties in multi-hop mobile wireless networks

The maintainability of connectivity in multi-hop mobile wireless networks is a complex task to achieve, for which various factors must be taken into account in order to avoid link failures. In addition to the bandwidth limitation, node mobility and interference are two aspects that impact directly the reliability of the communication link, leading generally to loss of wireless link connectivity. In this paper, we develop an analytical framework which determines the link and path lifetime in multi-hop mobile wireless networks. Through this model, we derive an analytical model of the link and path lifetime by taking into consideration both node mobility and interference. We find that the probability density function (PDF) of the duration of a link in presence of interference can be approximated by an exponential distribution with parameter λ which relies the transmission range R, the average speed V¯, the Signal-to-Interference-Plus-Noise-Ratio (SINR) threshold β, the path loss exponent α, and the maximum number of interfering nodes N. We extend this model to evaluate the PDF of the link lifetime by taking into account both interference and mobility of the linked nodes. We conclude that the PDF of the overall link lifetime can be approximated by a Rayleigh distribution that is in harmony with several previous simulation based-studies. Furthermore, some properties of wireless links and multi-hop paths are evaluated and several simulations are carried out in order to investigate the multi-hop wireless network connectivity and the associated performance.