Analysis of a One-Dimensional Continuous Delay-Tolerant Network Model

The packet speed and transmission cost are examined, for a single packet traveling along a simple one-dimensional, continuous-time network, using a combination of wireless transmissions and physical transports. We assume that the network consists of two nodes moving at constant speed on a circle, and changing their direction of travel after independent exponential times. The packet wishes to travel in the clockwise direction as fast and as far as possible. It travels either by being physically transported on a node's buffer, or by being wirelessly transmitted to the other node when the two are in the same location. We derive exact, explicit expressions for the long-term average packet speed (in the clockwise direction), and also for the average wireless transmission cost. These results can be viewed as initial steps towards the development of analogous exact expressions for the speed and cost, in more realistic, two-dimensional wireless delay-tolerant network models.