The Survivability of the Packet Radio Network

Survivability has always been an issue of consideration in the development of the Packet Radio Network. It has caused its development to evolve from the "Station Oriented Packet Radio" to the Stationless Packet Radio Concept. In this Paper we begin by describing both concepts. This is followed by a cormparison of the survivability of various aspects of network Performance in both concepts. In Particular, we look at the degradation of the Population of radios supported, the number of hops required for route set-up and the capacity utilized for route set-up, as stations fail. Mechanisms for making Station oriented Packet Radio more survivabl are Presented. Finally, we introduce an alternative Packet radio concept which, from a survivabi1ity viewpoint appears more attractive than either of the other concepts.