MINE and MILE: Improving Connectivity in Mobile Ad-hoc Networks

Ad-Hoc networks are useful where infrastructure networks cannot be deployed or are not cost effective, like temporary deployment in a conference or in case of emergency. However, the nature of ad-hoc networks and especially the mobility of nodes make it difficult to achieve a certain minimum connectivity, which is an indispensable property for many applications. The question we are interested in is: How can connectivity in ad-hoc networks be improved? In this paper, we suggest to introduce dedicated mobile nodes whose only purpose is to maintain the network. These "Mobile Infrastructure NodEs" (MINEs) move to positions where they are useful to (re-)create links between normal nodes. We introduce into the MINE concept and then present and analyze several information exploitation and movement strategies these infrastructure nodes could follow in order to efficiently complete their job. These strategies are based on a location exchange protocol which we call Mobile Infrastructure Location Exchange (MILE). Simulations compare the different strategies and show the usefulness of the approach, and they argue for the efficiency of the MILE protocol.