3.2. Dynamic Factors

A network adapts to mitigate the effect of changes in three dynamic factors, namely network resources, application data and user behaviors. This section describes these dynamic factors in detail.

The dynamic factor of network resources refers to both node and link resources. Node resources such as power, processing capability, storage capacity and buffer size may change in their availability and amount. Similarly, link resources such as bandwidth may change in their availability, amount and quality. For example, the availability of node and link resources may change when a node or link fails. The amount of node resources may change when the residual power on a battery-operated node decreases during the operation of the network. The amount of link resources may also change as the available bandwidth of a link changes depending on its traffic load. The quality of link resources may change due to abrupt radio frequency (RF) noise or interference within a wireless network environment.

The dynamic factor of application data refers to data generated by the application in a network such as files in a peer-to-peer network and sampling data collected in a sensor network. Application data may change in their availability and amount. For example, the availability of application data may change when data are newly created or deleted in the network.

The dynamic factor of user behaviors refers to the activities of network users. User behaviors may change in their locations, ...

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