Performance of Wireless Networks Subject to Constraints and Failures

Abstract

Recent years have seen a proliferation in the use of wireless multi-hop networks in diverse scenarios ranging from community mesh networks to wireless sensor networks. As wireless networks find application in such wide-ranging arenas and are deployed at large scale, they will increasingly need to operate in the presence of heterogeneous, and often constrained, hardware capabilities. Furthermore, fault-tolerant communication algorithms will be re- quired to provide the building blocks for reliable operation in the face of failure and/or disruption. In this dissertation, we have investigated performance and fault-tolerance is- sues in networks of such wireless devices. We have studied two specific problem domains, viz., throughput performance in multi-channel wireless networks where devices have het- erogeneous and constrained channel switching capabilities, and feasibility of fault-tolerant broadcast in single channel wireless networks where devices can exhibit Byzantine or crash- stop failure.