Cross-layer Framework and Condition-based Topology Control for Contested Environments

There has been much work in the open literature on the use of cross-layer information and design to improve overall system performance in wireless networks operating in benign (non-hostile/non-jammed) environments. However, not much work has been devoted to developing a systematic cross-layer framework that lends itself well to housing alternative cross-layer design algorithms for contested networks that are of interest to the Army. In this paper, we describe a flexible, modular and extensible cross-layer framework that can be used both in contested and benign environments to design robust multi-tiered ad hoc communications networks. Our framework is agnostic to the underlying substrate and can be used both on simulation platforms as well as SDR substrates. Using this framework, we also develop a condition-based cross-layer topology control mechanism that provides the ability to create and maintain a robust network amidst hostile network jamming, and present results via discrete event simulations.