Performance analysis of data delivery reliability schemes in underwater sensor networks

Underwater Sensor Networks (USNs) are characterized with high error probability, low bandwidth and large delays due to use of acoustic channels. Typical reliability approaches used in terrestrial sensor networks - retransmissions, multipath transmissions and Forward Error Correction (FEC) - have been employed in underwater sensor networks. However, these schemes have not been analyzed and compared for underwater environments which differ from the terrestrial environment. In this paper, we perform analysis of retransmissions, multipath transmissions and FEC approaches for underwater sensor networks in terms of end-to-end packet delivery probability, delay and overhead. Through analytical models and trace driven simulations, the paper shows that the FEC scheme achieves the target data delivery probability with the minimum delay and overhead as compared to retransmissions and multipath transmissions approaches. We also present extended models for generic reliable data delivery schemes which simultaneously consider multiple paths, retransmissions and forward error corrections. These models are also applicable to networks other than underwater sensor networks.