Node Stability Index

Abstract

In this paper, the author proposes an algorithm to determine a stable Connected Dominating Set (CDS) for Mobile Ad hoc Networks (MANETs) based on the notion of a metric called the Node Stability Index (NSI) of a node, defined as the sum of the predicted expiration times of the links (LETs) with the neighbor nodes that are not yet covered by a CDS node. The proposed algorithm prefers, to include to the CDS, a covered node that has the largest NSI value. A covered node is eligible for inclusion into the NSI-CDS if it has at least one uncovered neighbor node. Through extensive simulations, the author observes that the NSI-CDS is significantly stable (the tradeoff being a modest increase in the CDS Node Size) and its lifetime is about 2.5-3.5 times more than the lifetime of a maximum-density based CDS (MaxD-CDS) and 1.5-2 times more than the lifetime of an ID-based CDS.