Random-walk based analysis of virtual backbone in MANETs

Service discovery architectures and cluster-assisted routing protocols in mobile ad-hoc networks (MANETs) heavily rely on formation and maintenance of a virtual backbone (VB). We present a novel analytic model for VB stability in MANETs. The model employs the dynamics of node movements, where link creation/failure is modeled via a random walk with probabilistic state-transition matrix. The backbone formation algorithm gives preference to the nodes with the smaller number of link changes and the higher degree. Therefore, the link arrivals and departures approximate the probability (and thus the expected time) for a mobile node to leave, join, or remain in the backbone, i.e., the stability of a dynamic structure of VB nodes.