Network Control and Data Transport for C3I Applications

In this paper, communication networks that serve military C³I applications are considered. Such networks must operate under highly dynamic conditions, both in terms of network topology and in the volume and distribution of their traffic. The nodes in these networks have to adapt, therfore, to frequent changes while using their scarce resources efficiently and delivering reliable data transport at all times. To help with this, algorithms that provide some of the required functionality, namely, adaptive routing and network reconfiguration schemes are presented. Specifically, two distributed routing algorithms are considered: (1) a shortest-path algorithm that converges after a number of cycles in the order of the network´s diameter, and that is almost loop free, and (2) a quasi-static algorithm that confines the message exchange following a link failure to a small set of nodes in order to yield a routing that is close to optimal. We next describe a random node interconnection procedure that enables the nodes to control the neighborhood they communicate directly with. This procedure yields a connected network with high probability if the nodal degree is above some threshold. Efficient scheduling of transmissions over radio channels is essential for high network throughput. An algorithm for optimum scheduling is described and its complexity, which is the best known so far, is discussed. Finally, we discuss a side effect of the requirement for efficient, reliable packet delivery, that is, packets that arrive out of order, and present performance models of the resequencing required at the receiver.