Optimized Connectivity Restoration in a Partitioned Wireless Sensor Network

Due to the harsh operation conditions a wireless sensor network (WSN) may suffer large scale damage where many nodes fail simultaneously causing the network to get partitioned into multiple disjoint segments. Restoring network connectivity in such a case is very crucial to avoid negative effects on the application. This paper investigates a relay node (RN) placement strategy to establish inter-segment connectivity and proposes CIST, an algorithm for forming a Connected Inter-Segment Topology. CIST uses segment representation as a means of optimization for minimizing the required number of RNs. The idea behind the algorithm is to find the best subsets of three segments and form a triangular Steiner Minimum Tree with minimum Steiner Points and federate the remaining segment through populating the RNs along mst edges. The performance of CIST is validated through simulation.