The purpose-driven network: Optimizing wireless network configurations through value-of-information modeling

Military and public safety personnel have reasonably predictable behaviors, which imply predictable communication patterns with arguably separable components. During critical operations, mission-related communications should take priority over all other traffic. Even within this category there exist classes of traffic (e.g., situational awareness, command and control) that have distinctive patterns of localization and information reuse, depending on an organizationpsilas operational processes. Modeling and simulation (M&S) is useful in determining sources, sinks and criticalities by breaking and retarding selected information streams and examining the impact on downstream decisions and organizational responses. The results of such analysis can provide the framework and constraints for determining which network configurations optimize the value of traffic for a host of missions.