Component Based Performance Modelling of Wireless Routing Protocols

We propose a component based methodology for modelling and design of wireless routing protocols. Componentization is a standard methodology for analysis and synthesis of complex systems, or software. The feasibility of the component based design relies heavily on the compositionality property (i.e. system-level properties can be computed from properties of components). To provide a component based design methodology and to test compositionality for routing protocols, we have to develop a component based model of the wireless network. We present the main components of the routing protocol that should be modelled and focus on three main components: neighborhood discovery, selector of topology information to disseminate, and the path selection components. For each component, we identify the inputs, outputs, and a generic methodology for modelling. Throughout the paper, we use the Optimized Link State Routing (OLSR) protocol as a case study to demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach. Using the neighborhood discovery component, we present our design methodology and design a modified enhanced version of this component, and compare its performance to the original OLSR design.