HUSEC: A heuristic self configuration model for wireless sensor networks

The Network State Beacons (NSB) exchange rate is the critical parameter in monitoring the dynamic state of any self-configuring ad hoc sensor network. Along with the network state and the overhead control traffic, it determines both the time and nature of any proactive reconfiguration activity that is necessary to counteract any degradation in network performance. While traditionally selected at random, this rate of beacon exchange significantly affects the accuracy with which the variations in network state are tracked. It is therefore imperative to adapt this rate to the variation in load profile and attempt to maintain its value within predefined bounds which can be optimised to keep the network operating quiescently, while conforming to its various Quality-of-Service (QoS) requirements. This paper presents a novel, heuristic self-configuration (HUSEC) model which addresses this optimisation problem. The simulation results confirm that the model reconfigures the network more effectively to not only achieve higher throughput, but also greater network integrity, with minimal control traffic and resource overheads.