Scalability analysis of grid-based multi-hop wireless networks

We investigate the scalability of grid-based TDMA wireless networks taking into account protocol details such as routing protocol overheads. Unlike prior work that derives asymptotic scaling laws for general wireless networks, our focus is to characterize the exact relationship between the maximum achievable per node throughput and the network size of grid-based networks under specific protocols. Such a characterization enables for answering questions such as: how many nodes can the network scale to given a traffic demand and what is the impact of control overhead on the effective capacity. While grid-based topologies are highly idealized, the analysis developed in this paper is applicable when such topologies can serve as reasonable approximations for a given network. Further, it also forms a basis for analyzing grid-based random networks that are generalizations of regular grid networks. We present closed-form expressions for achievable rates under both unicast and broadcast traffic for degree 4 and degree 8 regular grid networks. The accuracy of our analytical results is validated using extensive packet-level simulations using the NS-3 simulator.