Topology management for mission critical networks: Applying supply and demand to manage public safety networks

Abstract

This paper describes a new topology management and access control technique for wireless networks developed during Daniel's Camara PhD. The main purpose of the technique is to provide a stable and well managed topology, so that other protocols can be built on the top of it. Having a stable and predictable topology is a fundamental step to enable the real utilization of wireless networks, mainly for ad hoc and sensor networks. The proposed method is based on the economy concept of free market, more specifically, in the laws of supply and demand. Each role in the defined topology has a cost; nodes trade their attachment and role in the network. The system eventually reaches a Pareto optimal allocation, what is a fair and stable configuration for all the participants. The method is distributed and flexible. Just by changing a small vector of basic prices, we can shape drastically different network topologies. The method permits even the modification of the topology characteristics of already deployed networks. This kind of feature is specially appreciated in the context of Public Safety Networks (PSN). In this kind of network, the same rescue team may have drastically different needs, depending on the kind of disaster they are attending.