Traffic Analysis of A3 Topology Construction Protocol in Wireless Sensor Networks

In this paper, the authors describe typical topologies used in wireless sensor networks (WSN) and A3 protocol, one of the most used topology construction protocols. The authors create a simulated environment using an Atarraya simulator. Simulation parameters depict a typical case of WSN application for monitoring a rectangular open field of 16 hectares. Simulation results show traffic load measured in number of messages per each node exchanged during simulated network lifetime. Messages are split into sent and received, and sub split into small and large messages. Results are presented in both tabular and graphical form, which provides an easy to comprehend method to check if the network satisfies given constraints. The use of a simulation environment and the obtained results are of great importance in early stages of WSN implementation in a natural environment. They enable simulation of expected traffic flow, estimate a battery powered network lifetime or validate an estimated amount of traffic which sensor nodes need to pass through, especially in cases where WSN deployment is irreversible due to sensor nodes inaccessibility after placement.