On Simultaneously Increasing MANET Survivability, Capacity, Power Efficiency and Security

Increasing the capacity, survivability and power efficiency of wireless networks are often seen as competing goals. This paper shows that it is possible to pursue these goals simultaneously in ad hoc networks through the use of a multi-objective cross entropy optimisation operating on the placement of additional nodes and transmission power control. Encouraging results were obtained through simulation, with substantial capacity gains and associated transmission power savings achieved, whilst offering survivability through bi-connected topologies. This paper also discusses how the increase in power efficiency improves the security of the network by reducing the range at which messages within the network can be detected and decoded by eavesdropping nodes. A derivation of the optimal distance required between senders and receivers in the presence of noise is described, and the effects of relaying on overall network capacity and node throughput are discussed.