Analyzing the Effect of Node Mobility in Clustered Wireless Ad Hoc Networks

Clustering has been used as a fundamental tool to improve scalability in large wireless ad hoc networks. Techniques based on clustering, such as routing, self-organization, context management, service discovery, etc., ensure QoS in wireless ad hoc networks when the number of devices increases. The crucial issue of clustering is the overhead generated during the cluster formation and maintenance phases. An in-depth study of the influence of node mobility on cluster formation and maintenance overhead is still missing. There is little insight into the performance of clustering in the presence of different node mobility patterns. This paper presents a detailed analytical study of the clustering overhead considering node mobility in wireless ad hoc networks, and offers a way to understand how different the node mobility parameters influence the clustering overhead. The analytical results are compared with the simulation results with sufficient accuracy. In summary, this paper provides a fundamental understanding of mobility behaviors of devices and the clustering overhead.