Mobility Models for Next Generation Wireless Networks

Chapter 3

Mobility Models for Next Generation Wireless Networks

In the previous chapter, we motivated the importance of simulation in next generation wireless network analysis and introduced models for the radio channel, network topology, and energy consumption in a wireless node. In this chapter, we will focus on models of wireless node mobility, starting with motivating their importance within the network performance evaluation process. We will then extensively discuss the reasons why the existing know-how on mobility models for cellular networks cannot be applied (at least, directly) to model mobility in next generation wireless networks. Next, a taxonomy of existing mobility models for next generation wireless networks based on different criteria will be introduced. Finally, we will present the CRAWDAD web community resource for archiving mobility traces derived from real-world experiments and testbeds.

3.1 Motivation

We saw in the previous chapter that, given the difficulties related with realization, operation, and maintenance of testbeds, analysis and simulation play a fundamental role in next generation wireless network performance evaluation, especially when the network designer is interested in understanding network behavior when the number of nodes becomes large. Hence, suitable models must be developed to deal with the various aspects that might influence network performance; these models can then be combined and used to estimate expected network performance through ...