Connectivity analysis for a tactical radio network

Ad hoc networking requires that links between individual radios be maintained in the face of multiple-access interference, mobility, fading, and terrain variation. Much research has been devoted to developing protocols for establishing links and maintaining routing information in an ad hoc network. In particular, clustering algorithms may be used to form a network. An additional problem is to guarantee that enough links are present to provide connectivity to every node in the network. We address this problem by studying the network topology that results when a clustering algorithm is applied to particular scenarios. We apply terrain and propagation models to a geographic distribution of radios to determine the propagation losses between all pairs of radios. This, in turn, establishes a set of network links for given power thresholds. The clustering algorithm then determines the network´s topology. Our results show the effects of frequency-band selection and antenna heights on the network´s connectivity. We draw conclusions about the processing and coding gains required to establish full connectivity in different scenarios. These conclusions may be used to evaluate the suitability of commercial DS-CDMA waveforms for battlefield communications.