Influence of Node Location Distributions on the Structure of Ad Hoc and Mesh Networks

We study the impact of the distribution of node locations on key properties of wireless networks. In particular, using Monte Carlo simulations we study in detail the behavior of average path length for different distributions and parameters thereof. We also show that distribution of client locations has significant impact on network planning, in particular on combination of base station placement and range assignment. In both cases our results indicate that the underlying point distributions of nodes have clear effects on the wireless network properties. We also discuss the implications of our results and the role of Poisson point process as an approximation of other distributions.