Simulation of Unidirectional Links in Wireless Sensor Networks

Abstract

Experiments with wireless sensor networks have shown that asymmetric and unidirectional links are common. For this reason, we developed different routing protocols that can use unidirectional links, either implicitly or explicitly. However, developing protocols that use unidirectional links is difficult, not least because of inadequate simulation support. In this paper we present a simulation model based on OM-NeT++ and MiXiM that we developed to simulate networks with unidirectional links and frequent link changes. We evaluate the developed simulation approach by comparison of results achieved by different routing protocols in simulation and in experiments with real sensor network hardware.

Use ’em or lose ’em: On unidirectional links in reactive routing protocols

“…Di↵erent approaches have been proposed to address unidirectional links. Some explore cross-layer or data-link layer solutions [16,17,18,19,20] to make unidirectional links transparent to the network layer. Others propose to handle unidirectional links at the data-link layer and thus hide their impact on upper layers -in particular, on routing protocols -entirely [18].…”

“…In [17], an extensive work is performed in improving the sensor network performance in the presence of unidirectional links. Five protocols are proposed for di↵erent network scenarios and assumptions.…”