Link redundancy based connected topologies in ad-hoc networks

The topology of a wireless network can have a significant impact on the connectivity, fault tolerance and longevity of a network. Power optimised topology control algorithms including a relative neighbourhood graph (RNG) and a minimum spanning tree (MST) reduce the links in a network topology, while keeping a topology connected. Link redundancy may be critical to cope with faults such as node failures and link disruptions. In this paper, we analyse the fault tolerance of a number of topology control algorithms. We propose a new distributed mechanism to increase the fault tolerance of power optimised topology control algorithms. The proposed mechanism can be used in the case of node failures, where extra link redundancy may be crucial to provide a connected topology. We compare the connectivity, fault tolerance, transmission power and the hop diameter of the proposed approach against RNG, MST and the 'minimum node degree' graphs for different node degree values. Simulations indicates that the proposed approach provides a distributed mechanism to enhance the fault tolerance and connectivity of RNG and MST topology graphs for high node failure rates