OMAN: A Mobile Ad Hoc Network Design System

We present a software library that aids in the design of mobile ad hoc networks (MANET). The OMAN design engine works by taking a specification of network requirements and objectives, and allocates resources which satisfy the input constraints and maximize the communication performance objective. The tool is used to explore networking design options and challenges, including: power control, adaptive modulation, flow control, scheduling, mobility, uncertainty in channel models, and cross-layer design. The unaddressed niche which OMAN seeks to fill is the general framework for optimization of any network resource, under arbitrary constraints, and with any selection of multiple objectives. While simulation is an important part of measuring the effectiveness of implemented optimization techniques, the novelty and focus of OMAN is on proposing novel network design algorithms, aggregating existing approaches, and providing a general framework for a network designer to test out new proposed resource allocation methods. In this paper, we present a high-level view of the OMAN architecture, review specific mathematical models used in the network representation, and show how OMAN is used to evaluate tradeoffs in MANET design. Specifically, we cover three case studies of optimization. The first case is robust power control under uncertain channel information for a single physical layer snapshot. The second case is scheduling with the availability of directional radiation patterns. The third case is optimizing topology through movement planning of relay nodes.