Decentralized topology management on mobile ad hoc networks

In this paper, a new simulation tool is described which is used to present a decentralized approach on Mobile Ad Hoc Networks. The simulation is developed in Matlab using a decentralizing algorithm. The paper includes a distributed algorithm for adaptive movement of nodes in a MANET (Mobile Ad hoc Network) to maintain the overall topology of the network. The proposed algorithm assumes the presence of a GPS receiver in each node so that every node is aware of the position of every other node. A node measures the relative position and velocity of its neighbours and checks whether a certain critical condition is satisfied or not. If the condition is satisfied, it keeps its position unchanged; otherwise a rush call is made to that node by its nearest neighbour to get it back within the range. The overall advantage here is that our new tool doesn´t involve any co-ordinator which significantly reduces the overhead on the network. The simulation of the algorithm has been carried out on a few synthetically generated network scenarios and the results thus obtained show the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm.