Power-aware virtual base stations for wireless mobile ad hoc communications

In this paper, we propose a novel infrastructure formation scheme for wireless mobile ad hoc networks. The proposed architecture, namely, power-aware virtual base stations (PA-VBS), mimics and maintains the operation of the conventional fixed infrastructure in cellular networks. In the PA-VBS protocol, a mobile node is elected from a set of nominees to act as a temporary base station within its zone based on its residual battery capacity. We study the characteristics and performance of PA-VBS by means of simulation. It is shown that PA-VBS scales well to large networks of mobile stations, and that it outperforms other infrastructure-formation protocols in terms of load balancing. The PA-VBS architecture facilitates the development of a comprehensive and promising framework for quality of service (QoS) management in wireless mobile ad hoc networks once the proper integration of the MAC protocol with the routing and call admission control mechanisms is established. Moreover, it lays the groundwork for assigning bandwidth, and/or implementing priorities, and hence for QoS-based routing by conveying the quality of a path prior to call setup. To the authors' best knowledge, this is the first time that energy is used as a basis for developing a wireless mobile infrastructure, and achieving load balancing. (C) 2002 Published by Elsevier Science B.V.