Prolonged network life-time in self-organizing peer-to-peer networks with E-RSSI clustering

Clustering is an essential tool to facilitate the function of self-organizing peer-to-peer and sensor networks. The LEACH (Low-Energy Adaptive Clustering Hierarchy) algorithm for forming clusters in ad-hoc networks represents a probabilistic way of choosing cluster-heads which shows a large variation over the average link distances of clusters and leads to uneven energy consumption during the transmission phase. However LEACH has the advantage that the energy load of being cluster-head is distributed among all the nodes resulting in a longer network life-time. On the other hand, the RSSI (Received Signal Strength Indicator)-based algorithms try to reduce the variation over the average link distances of clusters by means of choosing cluster-heads in the areas of higher node density in order to have an even energy consumption during transmission phase. But it distributes the energy load of being the cluster-head between some specific nodes which leads to a shorter network life-time. Here, we propose a new clustering scheme E-RSSI (Enhanced RSSI), which has the main advantages of the RSSI based schemes as well as LEACH. The average link distance of E-RSSI is almost the same as the average link distance of RSSI. And E-RSSI, like RSSI, has a significantly smaller variation over the average link distances in comparison with LEACH and at the same time shows significant improvement in network life-time. E-RSSI produces a low energy cost per node like RSSI and a more evenly distributed energy cost per node like LEACH therefore a prolonged network life-time.