Bandwidth-adaptive Clustering for Mobile Ad Hoc Networks

In this paper, we propose a new clustering approach, bandwidth-adaptive clustering (BAC), for MANETs. BAC forms and maintains clusters using only local topology information. To adapt to network conditions and reduce the message overhead, BAC makes members forward the maintenance messages probabilistically based on available bandwidth. The multi-hop nature and Merge operation of BAC reduce the changes in case of mobility and achieve fewer consistent clusters. By bounding cluster size and the number of hops between members and clusterheads, BAC achieves more control on the number of formed clusters and the compactness of clusters. Simulation results demonstrate BAC´s better performance on construction and maintenance of clusters in case of mobility, adaptiveness to network conditions, and effectiveness in reducing message overhead with nearly no performance degradation.