Variable power transmission in highly Mobile Ad-Hoc Networks

Abstract

Mobile Ad Hoc Networks pose challenges in terms of power control, due to their fixed transmission power, the mobility of nodes and a constantly changing topology. High levels of power are needed in wireless networks, particularly for routing. As a result of the increase in the number of communication devices being used, there is the challenge of increased density within these networks, and a need to extend the battery life of communication devices. In order to address this challenge, this thesis presents the development of a new protocol (Dynamic Power AODV), which is an enhancement of the Ad Hoc On Demand Distance Vector (AODV) protocol. The new protocol dynamically adjusts the transmission power based on the range, which depends on node density. This thesis provides a systematic evaluation of the performance of DP-AODV, in a high speed and high density environment, in comparison with three other routing protocols. The experiments demonstrated that DP-AODV performed better than two of the protocols in all scenarios. As compared to the third protocol (AOMDV), DP-AODV gave better performance results for throughput and Power Consumption, but AOMDV performed better in terms of Packet Delivery Fraction rate and End-to-End Delay in some cases.