Wireless sensor networks: architectures, protocols, and management

Summary form only given. Wireless sensor networks are examples of the paradigm shift taking place in wireless network architectures. A wireless sensor network consists of large numbers of sensors, which are tiny, low-cost, low-power radio devices dedicated to performing certain functions such as collecting various environmental data and sending them to infrastructure processing nodes. The field of wireless sensor networking is also gaining greater interest among not only researchers but also diverse groups such as environmental, public safety, medicine, and military. This tutorial starts with an overview of the wireless sensor networks. A review of the current technologies used for these types of wireless networks is provided next. The focus is on the architectural issues such as topology, routing, and protocols. Finally, the network management issues related to wireless sensor networks are discussed. The tutorial concludes with a discussion of the open research problems in this area.