Capacity compatible two-level link state routing for mobile ad hoc networks

The throughput of mobile ad hoc networks (MANETs) has been analysed previously (Kleinrock, L. and Silvester, J., Proc. IEEE, vol.75, no.1, p.156-67, 1987). A possible network traffic pattern is one where communication sessions are between pairs of nodes arbitrarily situated throughout the network. Thus, the lengthy multiple hop paths of such communication sessions constrict network throughput. In fact, the throughput per node scales at a rate that is inversely proportional to the square root of the node count. Therefore, to maintain throughput per node that is constant with increasing node count, transceiver link capacity must grow at a rate that is proportional to the square root of the node count. Not only must link capacity scale appropriately, but so must the control overhead incurred by network communication protocols (i.e., overhead should not grow at a rate that exceeds the growth in link capacity). The paper describes how two-level link state routing can afford such scalability. That is, by adding only a single level of hierarchy to an otherwise flat routing architecture, it is possible to implement communication protocols that enable datagram forwarding while conforming to the network capacity constraints.