Route duration modeling for mobile ad-hoc networks Michael Pascoe-Chalke Æ Javier Gomez Æ Victor Rangel Æ Miguel Lopez-Guerrero Ó Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2009 Abstract In this paper, we present a model that estimates the time duration of routes formed by several intermediate nodes in mobile multi-hop ad-hoc networks. First, we analyze a 3-node route, where only the intermediate node is in movement while source and destination nodes remain static. From this case, we show how route duration is affected by the initial position of the intermediate node and the size of the region where it is located. We also consider a second case where all nodes of 3-node routes are mobile. Based on extensive analysis of these routes, we determine the PDF of route duration under two different mobility models. This PDF can be determined by either analytical or statistical methods. The main contribution of this paper is that the time duration of a route formed by N intermediate nodes can be accurately computed by considering the minimum route duration of a set of N routes of 3 nodes each. Simulation work was conducted using the NS-2 network simulator to verify the accuracy of the proposed model and to compare it with other proposals found in the literature. We show that our model is in better agreement with simulation results as compared with other models. Results from this work can be used to compute overhead signaling during route-maintenance of unicast and multi- cast routing protocols for mobile ad-hoc networks. Similarly, because route duration decreases with route length, this study can be used to scale the network size up/down. Keywords Ad-hoc networks  Route duration  MANET 1 Introduction An ad-hoc network is a collection of nodes forming a tem- porary network by means of wireless interfaces and without use of any existing network infrastructure or centralized administration. Different types of ad-hoc networks are becoming increasingly popular: Vehicular Ad-hoc Net- works (VANETs), Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) and Mobile Ad-hoc Networks (MANETs). In MANETs, the nodes self-organize and are free to move randomly. The network topology may thus change rapidly and unpredict- ably. Such a network may operate in a standalone fashion, or may be connected to the Internet. MANETs became a pop- ular subject for research as laptops and 802.11/Wi-Fi wireless networks were widespread in the late 1990s. Degree of mobility is an important factor and a key research issue in MANET and VANET networks. Although, at this moment, most sensor applications have zero or low mobility, it can be anticipated that future sensor network applications would also involve some degree of mobility [5]. Due to the limited transmission range of wireless radio transceivers, there may be a need for one or multiple nodes (intermediate forwarding nodes) working as relays (multi-hop routing) between source-destination pairs in an M. Pascoe-Chalke (&)  J. Gomez  V. Rangel Department of Electrical Engineering, National Autonomous University of Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico e-mail: michael@fi-b.unam.mx; michaelpascoemx@yahoo.com.mx J. Gomez e-mail: javierg@fi-b.unam.mx V. Rangel e-mail: victor@fi-b.unam.mx M. Lopez-Guerrero Department of Electrical Engineering, Metropolitan Autonomous University, Mexico City, Mexico e-mail: milo@xanum.uam.mx 123 Wireless Netw DOI 10.1007/s11276-009-0166-1