Evaluation study of Leader Selection Algorithms in Wireless Mesh Networks
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Date
2015
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University of Zululand
Abstract
Wireless Mesh Network (WMN) is a group of wireless devices which can dynamically communicate with one another in multi-hop manner. Wireless mesh networks (WMNs) are getting more attention and recognition as a scalable substitute for Wired Network infrastructure. The rising popularity of WMNs has necessitated the development of security mechanisms. The newly-ratified IEEE 802.11s mesh networking standard specifies a security mechanism that builds upon the IEEE 802.11i security standard meant for wireless local area networks. The IEEE 802.11s security mechanism requires the existence of a single Mesh key Distributor (MKD) which assists the authentication of new nodes that join the network. However, there is no mechanism for selecting a new MKD if the current MKD is unreachable or has failed. This scenario can occur due to the dynamic nature of WMN backbone topologies, wireless link variability in deployed networks, and battery depletion in battery-powered WMNs. MKD selection in WMN deployments can be performed by adapting Leader Selection Algorithms from Wireless Sensor Networks. The goal of this research study is to evaluate the existing leader selection algorithms in the context of selecting an MKD for WMNs. This goal was achieved by evaluating the existing wireless ad hoc networks leader selection algorithms. The energy-based and position-based leader selection algorithms were evaluated in the context of MKD selection and were subjected to different leader selection rounds and network sizes. The evaluation shows that on the energy-based LSAs, the heterogeneous-based LSAs EECS and UDAC) outperform the homogeneous-based LSAs (LEACH and EECHA) based on communication overhead cost and the energy consumption rate. Whilst the homogeneous-based LSAs outperform the 3
heterogeneous LSAs in terms of leader selection delay. The evaluation further revealed that, for the position-based LSAs, the event-based algorithms (EDC & EECED) outperform the distance-based algorithms (EDBCP & EDBC) in the achieved performance for communication overhead cost, leader selection delay and the energy consumption rate.
Description
A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Science and Agriculture in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Computer Science in the Department of Computer Science at the University Of Zululand, South Africa, 2015
Keywords
wireless mesh networks --leader selection