Improving the Bandwidth Consumption of File Sharing in Mobile Networks through Clustering

Mobile devices, such as laptops, smartphones, and PDAs are nowadays widely used. One essential daily task, among others, is the sharing of files, e.g. podcasts, pictures, or learning material, with others. The dynamic nature of mobile networks, together with the limited bandwidth, make common file sharing protocols unsuitable for such dynamic environments. In this paper two different strategies for the dissemination of files in mobile networks are introduced. Both approaches are evaluated based on different criteria, such as the file size and the level of interest. The first strategy is based on the en-passant communication pattern, which is a peer-to-peer approach between local one-hop neighbors. The second approach employs a clustering algorithm for mobile networks.