Clustering in

Mobile Ad hoc Networks

Why Clustering?


Cluster-based control structures provides more efficient use
of resources for large dynamic networks

Clustering can be used for
Transmission management (link-cluster architecture)
Backbone formation
Routing Efficiency



Link-Clustered Architecture

[Baker+ 1981a, 1981b, Ephremides+ 1987]
Reduces interference in multiple-access broadcast environment
Distinct clusters are formed to schedule transmissions in a contention-
free way
Each cluster has a clusterhead, one or more gateways and zero or
more ordinary nodes
Clusterhead schedules transmission and allocates resources within its
cluster
Gateways connect adjacent clusters

To establish link-clustered control structure
1. Discover neighbors
2. Select clusterhead to form clusters
3. Decide on gateways between clusters

Link-Clustered Architecture

[Baker+ 1981a, 1981b, Ephremides+ 1987]
Clusterhead
Gateway
Ordinary node
Cluster

Clusterheads

Resemble base stations in cellular networks, but dynamic
Responsible for resource allocation
Maintains network topology
Acts as routers forwards packets from one node to another
Aware of its cluster members
Aware of its one-hop neighboring clusterheads


Since clusterheads decide network topology,
election
of clusterheads optimally is critical

Previous Work

Highest-Degree Heuristic [Gerla+ 1995, Parekh 1994]

Computes the degree of a node based on the distance
(transmission range) between the node and the other nodes
The node with the maximum number of neighbors (maximum
degree) is chosen to be a clusterhead and any tie is broken
by the node ids

Drawbacks:
A clusterhead cannot handle a large number of nodes due to
resource limitations
Load handling capacity of the clusterhead puts an upper
bound on the node-degree
The throughput of the system drops as the number of nodes
in cluster increases

Previous Work

Lowest-ID Heuristic [Baker+ 1981a, 1981b, Ephremides+ 1987]

The node with the minimum node-id is chosen to be a
clusterhead
A node is called a gateway if it lies within the transmission range
of two or more clusters
Distributed gateway is a pair of nodes that reside within different
clusters, but they are within the transmission range of each other

Drawbacks:
Since it is biased towards nodes with smaller node-ids, leading
to battery drainage
It does not attempt balance the load for across all the nodes

Previous Work

Node-Weight Heuristic [Basagni 1999a, 1999b]

Node-weights are assigned to nodes based on the suitability
of a node being a clusterhead
The node is chosen to be a clusterhead if its node-weight is
higher than any of its neighbors node-weights and any tie is
broken by the minimum node ids

Drawbacks:
No concrete criteria of assigning the node-weights
Works well for quasi-static networks where the nodes do
not move much or move very slowly

A clusterhead can ideally support nodes
Ensures efficient MAC functioning
Minimizes delay and maximizes throughput
A clusterhead uses more battery power
Does extra work due to packet forwarding
Communicates with more number of nodes
A clusterhead should be less mobile
Helps to maintain same configuration
Avoids frequent WCA invocation
A better power usage with physically closer nodes
More power for distant nodes due to signal attenuation
o


Weighted Clustering Algorithm (WCA)
[Chatterjee+ 2000, 2002]

Weighted Clustering Algorithm (WCA) Steps
1. Compute the degree d
v
each node v


Coordinate distance, predefined transmission range.
2. Compute the degree-difference for every node


For efficient MAC (medium access control) functioning.
Upper bound on # of nodes a cluster head can handle.

( ) { }

= e
< = =
v v v
tx v
v dist v N
v
V
range
d
' '
,
'
, | ) ( |
| | o =
A d
v v

Weighted Clustering Algorithm (WCA) Steps
3. Compute the sum of the distances D
v
with all neighbors




Energy consumption; more energy for greater dist.
communication.
Power required to support a link increases faster than
linearly with distance. (For cellular networks)



( ) { }

e
=
) (
'
'
,
v N
v
v
v dist
v
D
1
2 3
4
5
6
7
12
13
14
15
16
17

Weighted Clustering Algorithm (WCA) Steps
4. Compute the average speed of every node; gives a measure of
mobility M
v




where and are the
coordinates of the node at time and

Component with less mobility is a better choice for clusterhead.

( ) ( )

=

+

=
T
t
Y Y X X
M t t t t
T
v
1
1 1
1
2 2
( )
Y X
t t
,
( )
Y X
t t 1 1
,

v
t
( ) 1 t
Y
t
Y
t-1
X
t
X
t-1
time

Weighted Clustering Algorithm (WCA) Steps
5. Compute the total (cumulative) time P
v
a node acts as
clusterhead
Battery drainage = Power consumed
6. Calculate the combined weight W
v
for each node
W
v
= w
1

v
+ w
2
D
v
+ w
3
M
v
+ w
4
P
v
for each node
7. Find min W
v
;

choose node v as the cluster head, remove all
neighbors of v for further WCA
8. Repeat steps 2 to 7 for the remaining nodes

Load Balancing Factor (LBF)


It is desirable to balance the loads among the clusters
Load balancing factor (LBF) has defined as (should be high)
( )

=
i
i
c
LBF
x
n

2
where,
n
c
is the number of clusterheads
x
i
is the cardinality of cluster i and
n
c
n
c
N
=
is the average number of neighbors of a clusterhead
(N being the total number of nodes in the system)

Connectivity


For clusters to communicate with each other, it is assumed that
clusterheads are capable of operating in dual power mode
A clusterhead uses low power mode to communicate with its immediate
neighbors within its transmission range and high power mode is used for
communication with neighboring clusters
Connectivity is defined as (for multiple component graph)



Probability that a node is reachable from any other node
( 0 1; 1 being most desirable)
N
component largest of size
= ty connectivi


Scattered nodes in the network


Clusterheads are identified




Clusters are formed




Clusters are connected

Features of WCA


Invocation of WCA is on-demand
Reduces information exchange by less system updates
Reduces computation/communication costs
Manages mobility by reaffiliations
Delays (avoids) invocation of clustering as far as possible

WCA is distributive
No clusterhead is over loaded
Balances load by limiting the cluster size

Performance Metric


1. Number of clusterheads
2. Number of reaffiliations
a process where a node detaches from one clusterhead and
attaches
to another
3. Number of dominant set updates
when a node can no longer attach to any of the existing
clusterheads

These parameters are studied for the varying
number of nodes
transmission range
maximum displacement

Simulation Environment


System with N nodes on a 100x100 grid
N was varied between 20 and 60
Nodes moved in all directions randomly
Velocity of nodes were varied uniformly between 0 and 10
Transmission range of nodes was varied between 0 and 70
Ideal degree was fixed at = 10
Weighing factors: w
1
= 0.7, w
2
= 0.2, w
3
= 0.05 and w
4
= 0.05
o

Experimental Results


Max displacement = 5 (const)
Transmission range = 0 - 70
Number of nodes = 20 - 60
Ideal degree = 10


Experimental Results


Max displacement = 1 - 10
Transmission range = 30 (const)
Number of nodes = 20 - 60
Ideal degree = 10


Load Balancing



Connectivity



Performance of WCA


References
[Baker+ 1981a] D.J. Baker and A. Ephremides, A Distributed Algorithm for Organizing Mobile Radio
Telecommunication Networks, Proceedings of the 2
nd
International Conference on Distributed Computer
Systems, April 1981, pp. 476-483.

[Baker+ 1981b] D.J. Baker and A. Ephremides, The Architectural Organization of a Mobile Radio Network via a
Distributed Algorithm, IEEE Transactions on Communications COM-29(11), 1981, pp. 1694-1701.

[Basagni 1999a] S. Basagni, Distributed Clustering for Ad hoc Networks, Proceedings of International Symposium on
Parallel Architectures, Algorithms and Networks, June 1999, pp. 310-315.

[Basagni 1999b] S. Basagni, Distributive and Mobility-Adaptive Clustering for Multimedia Support in Multi-hop
Wireless Networks, Proceedings of Vehicular Technology Conference, VTC, Vol. 2, 1999-Fall, pp. 889-893.

[Chatterjee+ 2002] M. Chatterjee, S. K. Das and D. Turgut, WCA: A Weighted Clustering Algorithm for Mobile Ad hoc
Networks. Journal of Cluster Computing (Special Issue on Mobile Ad hoc Networks), Vol. 5, No. 2, April 2002,
pp. 193-204.

[Chatterjee+ 2000] M. Chatterjee, S. K. Das and D. Turgut, An On-Demand Weighted Clustering Algorithm (WCA) for
Ad hoc Networks. IEEE GLOBECOM 2000, pp. 1697-1701.

[Ephremides+ 1987] A. Ephremides J.E. Wieselthier and D.J. Baker, A Design Concept for Reliable Mobile Radio
Networks with Frequency Hopping Signaling, Proceedings of IEEE, Vol. 75(1), 1987, pp. 56-73.

[Parekh 1994] A.K. Parekh, Selecting Routers in Ad-hoc Wireless Networks, Proceedings of the SBT/IEEE
International Telecommunications Symposium, August 1994.