Qualitative assessment of approaches to coordinate activities of mobile hosts in ad hoc networks

This article deals with the validation of approaches to coordinating activities in mobile ad hoc networks. Previous studies relied on simulations that paid little attention to how well these networks perform the tasks for which they can be deployed. Indeed, many authors employed random mobility models, although the hosts rarely move at random in real applications. Here, we assess the main ideas in the coordination literature in the context of extinguishing forest fires, with movements driven by application-level concerns and an eye on overall performance. The results reveal strengths and weaknesses of the most recent trend in coordination, knowledge exploitation.