The Capacity of Random Wireless Networks

We analyze how the capacity of the random wireless network scales with node density for stationary nodes, taking jointly into account link adaptation, media access control (MAC), routing and retransmission for error recovery (ARQ). For the purpose, we propose a generic per-hop-based routing scheme, in which relay probability is a key parameter, and use the routing scheme as a basis for our analysis. By jointly optimizing the above factors, we derive the capacity of the random network. Our analysis shows that the per-node throughput of a static random wireless network composed of n source-destination pairs is O(1/root n log n). This capacity estimation is similar to that of Gupta and Kumar, even if the assumptions are quite different. We also use simulations to investigate how node mobility affects the capacity of a random network. We have found that mobility can increase network capacity, by giving the nodes more chances to be close to each other. Our simulation results empirically show that the capacity of the random network under a mobility condition declines in the order of O(1/root n).