Mobility and reliability modeling for a mobile ad hoc network

The mobile ad hoc wireless network (MAWN) promises to become an ever-present technology with application to a myriad of areas. This networking scheme has its roots in DoD technology, yet, the ability to measure and calculate its reliability is largely absent. This paper describes the unique attributes of the MAWN and how the classical methods for analysis of network reliability must be adjusted. The methods developed acknowledge the dynamic and scalable nature of the new networking scheme along with its absence of infrastructure and remove the need to a priori define a network configuration. The methods rely on a novel modeling approach that recognizes the effects of mobility on the formation of the network's configurations. Hence, this paper proposes a Monte Carlo simulation method that accounts for node mobility, node reliability and node performance in the network's connectivity and resultant network reliability.