PapersFlow Research Brief
Opportunistic and Delay-Tolerant Networks
Research Guide
What is Opportunistic and Delay-Tolerant Networks?
Opportunistic and Delay-Tolerant Networks are communication systems designed for intermittently connected environments, such as mobile ad hoc networks, that employ protocols like opportunistic routing, epidemic routing, and disruption-tolerant techniques to enable data delivery despite frequent disconnections and delays.
This field encompasses 30,068 works on delay-tolerant networking in mobile ad hoc networks, addressing challenges in dynamic topologies and resource allocation. Key methods include epidemic routing, community-based routing, and mobility models for intermittently connected scenarios. Research explores opportunistic routing and social network analysis to improve performance in disruption-tolerant networks.
Topic Hierarchy
Research Sub-Topics
Opportunistic Routing Protocols
This sub-topic develops forwarding algorithms exploiting transient contacts in intermittently connected networks, including spray-and-wait variants. Researchers evaluate throughput via simulations and traces.
Mobility Models for Delay-Tolerant Networks
This sub-topic designs trace-based, social, and synthetic models capturing human movement patterns for DTN performance evaluation. Researchers validate against real-world datasets.
Epidemic Routing Algorithms
This sub-topic optimizes probabilistic flooding schemes for message dissemination in disruption-tolerant networks, addressing binary and controlled variants. Researchers analyze scalability limits.
Social Network Analysis in Opportunistic Networks
This sub-topic leverages centrality, community detection, and tie strength from contact graphs to inform routing decisions. Researchers apply graph theory to traces.
Resource Allocation in Delay-Tolerant Networks
This sub-topic addresses buffer management, scheduling, and energy-aware strategies under scarce resources in DTNs. Researchers develop utility-based optimization frameworks.
Why It Matters
Opportunistic and Delay-Tolerant Networks enable communication in environments without reliable infrastructure, such as remote sensing or mobile ad hoc scenarios. Heinzelman et al. (2002) introduced an application-specific protocol architecture for wireless microsensor networks that combines data from hundreds or thousands of nodes for accurate environmental monitoring while ensuring energy efficiency and low latency. Perkins and Royer (1999) developed Ad-hoc On-Demand Distance Vector (AODV) routing for cooperative mobile nodes without centralized access points, supporting operations in dynamic networks. Karp and Kung (2000) proposed GPSR, which uses geographic positions for greedy forwarding in wireless datagram networks, enhancing delivery in highly mobile settings.
Reading Guide
Where to Start
"Consensus Problems in Networks of Agents With Switching Topology and Time-Delays" by Olfati-Saber and Murray (2004), as it provides foundational analysis of directed networks with fixed and switching topologies plus time-delays, central to delay-tolerant challenges.
Key Papers Explained
Olfati-Saber and Murray (2004) "Consensus Problems in Networks of Agents With Switching Topology and Time-Delays" analyzes consensus in directed networks with delays, building toward dynamic ad hoc scenarios. Perkins and Royer (1999) "Ad-hoc on-demand distance vector routing" extends this to infrastructure-free mobile nodes with on-demand AODV, while Johnson and Maltz (2007) "Dynamic Source Routing in Ad Hoc Wireless Networks" complements by introducing source routing for route discovery. Perkins and Bhagwat (1994) "Highly dynamic Destination-Sequenced Distance-Vector routing (DSDV) for mobile computers" refines distance-vector approaches for high mobility, connecting to Karp and Kung (2000) "GPSR" geographic routing.
Paper Timeline
Most-cited paper highlighted in red. Papers ordered chronologically.
Advanced Directions
Research centers on integrating social network analysis with epidemic and community-based routing in dynamic networks, as per the 30,068 works. No recent preprints from the last 6 months or news from the last 12 months indicate steady focus on core protocols like opportunistic and disruption-tolerant methods without new public developments.
Papers at a Glance
| # | Paper | Year | Venue | Citations | Open Access |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Consensus Problems in Networks of Agents With Switching Topolo... | 2004 | IEEE Transactions on A... | 12.5K | ✕ |
| 2 | An application-specific protocol architecture for wireless mic... | 2002 | IEEE Transactions on W... | 10.5K | ✕ |
| 3 | Ad-hoc on-demand distance vector routing | 1999 | — | 10.3K | ✕ |
| 4 | Chord | 2001 | — | 9.6K | ✕ |
| 5 | Dynamic Source Routing in Ad Hoc Wireless Networks | 2007 | — | 8.5K | ✕ |
| 6 | Pastry: Scalable, Decentralized Object Location, and Routing f... | 2001 | Lecture notes in compu... | 7.3K | ✕ |
| 7 | GPSR | 2000 | — | 7.0K | ✕ |
| 8 | Highly dynamic Destination-Sequenced Distance-Vector routing (... | 1994 | ACM SIGCOMM Computer C... | 6.7K | ✓ |
| 9 | A scalable content-addressable network | 2001 | — | 6.4K | ✓ |
| 10 | Directed diffusion | 2000 | — | 5.4K | ✕ |
Frequently Asked Questions
What are Delay-Tolerant Networks?
Delay-Tolerant Networks operate in intermittently connected environments like mobile ad hoc networks, using protocols such as epidemic routing and opportunistic routing to forward data despite disruptions. They address challenges in dynamic networks through mobility models and resource allocation. The field includes 30,068 works focused on disruption-tolerant communication.
How does opportunistic routing work in these networks?
Opportunistic routing exploits transient connectivity in mobile ad hoc networks by forwarding packets to any available neighbor toward the destination. Protocols like those in GPSR by Karp and Kung (2000) use geographic positions for greedy perimeter stateless decisions based on immediate neighbor information. This approach improves delivery ratios in dynamic topologies.
What role does social network analysis play?
Social network analysis identifies community structures in mobile networks to optimize routing paths. It supports community-based routing by leveraging human mobility patterns in delay-tolerant scenarios. This method enhances efficiency in opportunistic forwarding within disruption-tolerant networks.
What are key routing protocols in mobile ad hoc networks?
Protocols include AODV by Perkins and Royer (1999), which operates on-demand without infrastructure, and DSDV by Perkins and Bhagwat (1994), which uses destination-sequenced distance-vector updates for highly dynamic environments. Dynamic Source Routing by Johnson and Maltz (2007) maintains routes through source-initiated discovery. These enable cooperative engagement among mobile hosts.
What is the current state of research?
The field comprises 30,068 papers on topics like epidemic routing, mobility models, and resource allocation in delay-tolerant networks. Highly cited works focus on ad hoc routing protocols and microsensor architectures. No recent preprints or news coverage from the last 12 months are available.
Open Research Questions
- ? How can switching topologies and time-delays be fully mitigated in consensus problems for networks of dynamic agents?
- ? What mobility models best predict performance in large-scale disruption-tolerant networks with social structures?
- ? Which resource allocation strategies optimize energy efficiency in intermittently connected microsensor networks?
- ? How do epidemic routing variants scale in highly dynamic ad hoc environments without centralized control?
- ? What integration of geographic routing improves opportunistic forwarding under frequent node failures?
Recent Trends
The field maintains 30,068 works with no specified 5-year growth rate, emphasizing established protocols in mobile ad hoc and delay-tolerant networks.
Highly cited papers like Olfati-Saber and Murray with 12,531 citations continue dominating, alongside AODV (10,279 citations) and Heinzelman et al. (2002) with 10,474 citations.
2004Absence of recent preprints or news reflects consolidation on mobility models, epidemic routing, and resource allocation.
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