An Experimental Study of Small World Network Models for Wireless Networks

The concept of small world phenomenon has been observed and applied in many types of networks. This paper presents a study of two small-world network models in clustering formation and routing in wireless network, the Watts and Stragtz's (WS) and the Newman and Watts (NW) models and evaluates their properties in term of average node degree and path length. We tested the small world phenomenon in wireless networks by simulating a wireless mobile ad hoc network with distributed routing protocols. We present the research challenges of bridging the gap between theoretical models and practical wireless network implementation. This study provides insights on how wireless networks behave under small world network models with distributed routing protocols.