Using Dominating Sets to Improve the Performance of ad hoc Networks

A Mobile ad hoc network (MANET) is a wireless network that does not rely on any fixed infrastructure (i.e., routing facilities, such as wired networks and access points), and whose nodes must coordinate among themselves to determine connectivity and routing. Coordination in ad hoc networks includes operations such as neighborhood discovery, organization of nodes (i.e., topology control and clustering), and routing. Most mechanisms performing these operations employ broadcasting of signaling messages as the underlying mechanism. The broadcast can target a portion of the network (e.g., gathering neighborhood information), or the entire network (e.g., discovering routes on demand). The focus of this work is the design and analysis of algorithms that improve broadcasting and hierarchical organization in ad hoc networks. To design such algorithms, concepts from domination in graphs are explored, because of their similarities to the problems arising with the broadcasting of signaling and data in MANETs.