Types of Wireless Networks: Infrastructure vs.

Mobile Ad-hoc Networks (MANET)

Figure: Infrastructure Network

Figure: Mobile Ad-hoc Network (MANET) 802.11 Multi-hop

Infrastructure Networks:

Fixed, wired backbone

Mobile communicates directly with access points

Suitable for locations where access points can be placed

Example : Cellular networks

Mobile Ad-hoc Networks (MANET):

A network without any base stations infrastructure-less

A collection of two or more devices equipped with wireless communications and networking capability.

The principle behind ad hoc networking is multi-hop relaying in which messages are sent from the source to
the destination by relaying through the intermediate hops (nodes).

Supports anytime and anywhere computing.

Operating without a central coordinator.

Two topologies:
 Heterogeneous (left in above figure of MANET)
 Differences in capabilities
 Homogeneous or fully symmetric (Right in above Figure of MANET )
 All nodes have identical capabilities and responsibilities.

Self-organizing and adaptive Allows spontaneous formation and deformation of mobile networks.



Carrier Sense Multiple Access (CSMA)

Each mobile host acts as a router.
Supports peer-to-peer communications.
Supports peer-to-remote communications.
Ease of deployment
Reduced administrative cost.
Constraint resources (bandwidth, computing power, battery lifetime, etc.)

Cellular Networks

Ad Hoc Wireless Networks

Fixed infrastructure-based

Infrastructureless

Guaranteed bandwidth (designed for voice

traffic)

Shared radio channel (more suitable for best-effort

data traffic)

Centralized routing

Distributed routing

Circuit-switched (evolving toward packet

switching)

Packet-switched (evolving toward emulation of

circuit switching)

Seamless connectivity (low call drops during

handoffs)

Frequent path breaks due to mobility

High cost and time of deployment

Quick and cost-effective deployment

Reuse of frequency spectrum through

geographical channel reuse

Dynamic frequency reuse based on carrier sense

mechanism

Easier to employ bandwidth reservation

Bandwidth reservation requires complex medium

access control protocols

Mobile hosts are of relatively low complexity

Mobile hosts require more intelligence (should

have a transceiver as well as routing/switching
capability)

Major goals of routing and call admission are to

maximize the call acceptance ratio and minimize
the call drop ratio

Main aim of routing is to find paths with minimum

overhead and also quick reconfiguration of broken
paths

Ad Hoc Networks Operating Principle:

Figure depicts a peer-to-peer multihop ad hoc network.

Mobile node A communicates directly with B (single hop) when a channel is available.


If Channel is not available, then multi-hop communication is necessary e.g. A->D->B.

For multi-hop communication to work, the intermediate nodes should route the packet i.e. they should act as a
router.

Example: For communication between A-C, B, or D & E, should act as routers.

Bringing up an Ad hoc Network:

1. Ad hoc network begins with at least two nodes broadcasting their presence (beaconing) with their respective
address information
2. Beaconing messages are control messages. If node A is able to establish a direct communication with node B
verified by appropriate control messages between them, they both update their routing tables
3. Third node C joins the network with its beacon signal. Two scenarios are possible:
i.
A & B both try to determine if single hop communication is feasible
ii.
Only one of the nodes e.g. B tries to determine if single hop communication is feasible and establishes
a connection
4. The distinct topology updates consisting of both address and the route updates are made in three nodes
immediately.
5. In first scenario, all routes are direct i.e. A->B, B->C, and A->C (Lets assume bi-directional links)
6. In the second scenario, the routes are updated
i.
First between B & C,
ii.
then between B & A,
iii.
Then between B & C again confirming that A and C both can reach each other via B

Topology Update Due to a Link Failure:

Mobility of nodes may cause link breakage requiring route updates

Assume link between B & C breaks because of some reason
Nodes A & C are still reachable via D and E
So old route between A &C was A->B->C is to be replaced by A->D->E->C
All five nodes are required to incorporate this change in their routing table
 This change will happen first in nodes B & C
 Then A & E
 Then D

MANET Applications:

Disaster relief
 Earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes
 Wiped out infrastructure
 Search & rescue

Community Mesh networks

Access extensions

Personal Area Networks(PANs)
 cell phone, laptop, ear phone, wrist watch

Ad hoc Gaming (on subway, cafes, etc.)

Military applications

Civilian environments
 taxi cab network
 meeting rooms
 sports stadiums
 boats, small aircraft

Wireless sensor networks

Collaborative computing
Major Issues and Challenges in MANET:

Hidden terminal problem

Exposed terminal problem

Channel efficiency

Access delay and fairness

Host is no longer an end system - can also be an acting intermediate system



Changing the network topology over time

Limited power capacity
Constructing virtual backbone
Distinguish contention, packet drop, and noise errors
Security
Limited wireless bandwidth

Hidden Terminal Problem: Hidden nodes in a wireless network refer to nodes that are out of range of other nodes or
a collection of nodes. The nodes And C are hidden to each other in figure. The problem is when nodes A and C start to
send packets simultaneously to the node B. Because the nodes A and C are out of range of each other and so cannot
detect a collision while transmitting, Carrier sense multiple access with collision detection (CSMA/CD) does not work,
and collisions occur, which then corrupt the data received. To overcome the hidden node problem, RTS/CTS
handshaking is implemented in conjunction with the Carrier sense multiple access with collision
avoidance (CSMA/CA) scheme.
IEEE 802.11 uses 802.11 RTS/CTS acknowledgment and handshake packets to partly overcome the hidden node
problem. RTS/CTS is not a complete solution and may decrease throughput even further, but adaptive
acknowledgments from the base station can help too.
The comparison with hidden stations shows that RTS/CTS(Request to Send/ Clear to Send) packages in each traffic
class are profitable (even with short audio frames, which cause a high overhead on RTS/CTS frames).

Figure: Hidden Terminal Problem

Exposed Terminal Problem: The exposed terminal problem occurs when a node is prevented from sending packets
to other nodes due to a neighboring transmitter. Consider an example of 4 nodes labeled R1, S1, S2, and R2, where the
two receivers are out of range of each other, yet the two transmitters in the middle are in range of each other. Here, if a
transmission between S1 and R1 is taking place, node S2 is prevented from transmitting to R2 as it concludes
after carrier sense that it will interfere with the transmission by its neighbor S1. However note that R2 could still
receive the transmission of S2 without interference because it is out of range of S1.

IEEE 802.11 RTS/CTS mechanism helps to solve this exposed terminal problem only if the nodes are synchronized
and packet sizes and data rates are the same for both the transmitting nodes. When a node hears an RTS (Request to
Send) from a neighboring node, but not the corresponding CTS (Clear to Send), that node can deduce that it is an
exposed node and is permitted to transmit to other neighboring nodes.