Multihop Wireless Networks: Opportunistic Routing

1.1 Multihop Wireless Networks

A multihop wireless network (MWN) is a network of nodes (e.g. computers) connected by wireless communication links. The links are usually implemented with digital packet radios. Due to the limited transmission range of the radio, many pairs of nodes in MWNs may not be able to communicate directly; hence they may need other intermediate nodes to forward packets for them. Multihop wireless networks have broad military and civilian applications in many critical situations. They have received increasing attention in the past decade due to their broad applications and easy deployment at low cost without relying on existing infrastructure (Akyildiz and Kasimoglu 2004; Akyildiz et al. 2002, 2005; Cerpa et al. 2001; Chong and Kumar 2003; Estrin et al. 2002; Lorincz et al. 2004). Different names are used to refer to them in different scenarios.

Mobile ad hoc Networks (MANETs)

Generally speaking, a mobile ad hoc network (MANET) is a self-configuring network of mobile devices connected by wireless links. Each device in a MANET is free to move independently in any direction. So the node-to-node connection and network topology will change frequently. The primary challenge in MANETs is continuously to maintain the routing information at each node required to properly route traffic. The applications of MANETs include search-and-rescue operations. Such scenarios are characterized by a lack of installed communications infrastructure because all the equipment might ...