Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

A scalable code dissemination protocol in heterogeneous wireless sensor networks

  • Research Paper
  • Published:
Science China Information Sciences Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Code dissemination is currently a major research issue in wireless sensor networks (WSNs). Many studies focus on code dissemination in homogeneous WSNs, mainly using a broadcast approach to solve this problem; few studies on code dissemination in heterogeneous WSNs. Furthermore, broadcasting cannot readily be used to solve the heterogenous WSN code dissemination problem directly, which is where we have focused our attention. We transformed this problem into a minimum non-leaf nodes (MNN) Steiner tree problem. We designed a scalable multicast protocol, named Heterogeneous Sensor Networks Scalable Reprogramming Protocol (HSR) to solve the MNN problem. HSR can build different multicast trees according to different nodes or code modules to disseminate different codes to them. HSR is able to approximate the MNN tree problem to a ratio of ln|R| (R is the set of all destinations) best known lowest bound. Therefore, the communication cost is significantly decreased and the total energy required by WSNs is reduced. We further designed two scalable schemes, special routing log and hops-restricted local broadcast, which compress the multicast tree information and deliver the multicast messages without loss. We also designed a 3-stage pipeline to speed up the transmission of packets, which alleviated interference and hidden terminal issues. We evaluated our design through comprehensive simulations and prototype implementations on Mica2 motes. Experimental results demonstrate that HSR outperforms previous protocols including the most recent studies on Sprinkler and uCast.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Wang Q, Zhu Y, Cheng L. Reprogramming wireless sensor networks: challenges and approaches. IEEE Network, 2006, 20: 48–55

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Crossbow Technology Inc. Mote In-Network Programming User Reference. Version 20030315, 2003. http://webs.cs.berkeley.edu/tos/tinyos-1.x/dos.Xnp.pdf

  3. Levis P, Patel S, Shenker S, et al. Trickle: A self-regulating algorithm for code propagation and maintenance in wireless sensor networks. Technical Report, UCB/CDS-03-1290, Computer Science Dept. 2003

  4. Stathopoulos T, Heidemann J, Estrin D. A remote code update mechanism for wireless sensor networks. Tech rep CENS-TR-30 UCLA Center for Embedded Networked Computing, 2003

  5. Hui J W, Culler D. The dynamic behavior of a data dissemination protocol for network programming at scale. In: Stankovic J A, Arora A, Govindan R, eds. Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Embedded Networked Sensor Systems (SenSys 2004). Baltimore, MD: ACM Press, 2004. 81–94

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  6. Kulkarni S S, Wang L. MNP: multihop network reprogramming service for sensor networks. In: Martin D C, ed. The 25th IEEE International Conference on Distributed Computing Systems. Columbus, Ohio: IEEE Computer Society, 2004. 7–16

    Google Scholar 

  7. Naik V, Arora A, Sinha P, et al. Sprinkler: A reliable and energy efficient data dissemination service for extreme scale wireless networks of embedded devices. IEEE Trans Mobile Comput, 2007, 6: 777–789

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Levis P, Culler D. The firecracker protocol. In: 11th ACM SIGOPS European Workshop (EW11). New York: The Association for Computing Machinery, Inc, 2004. 1–5

    Google Scholar 

  9. Marron P J. Management and configuration issues for sensor networks. Int J Network Manag, 2005, 15: 235–253

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Cao Q, He T, Abdelzaher T. uCast: Unified connectionless multicast for energy efficient content distribution in sensor networks. IEEE Trans Parall Distrib Syst, 2007, 18: 240–250

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Peng S, Li S, Chen L, et al. SenCast: Scalable multicast in wireless sensor networks. J Comput Sci Tech, 2008, 23: 780–791

    Article  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  12. Gao Z, Wang C, Li X. Construction of simulation framework for service discovery protocols in GloMoSim. Comput Eng, 2008, 34: 109–111

    Google Scholar 

  13. Dimakis A G, Wainwright M J, Sarwate A D. Geographic gossip: efficient aggregation for sensor networks. In: Stankovic J A, Gibbons P B, Wicker S B, et al., eds. Proceeding of the Fifth International Conference on Information Processing in Sensor Networks, IPSN 2006. Nashville, Tennessee, USA: ACM, 2006. 69–76

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  14. He T, Stankovic J A, Lu C, et al. Speed: A stateless protocol for real-time communication in ad hoc sensor networks. In: Titsworth F M, ed. 23rd International Conference on Distributed Computing Systems (ICDCS 2003). RI, USA: IEEE Computer Society, 2003. 46–55

    Google Scholar 

  15. Panta R K, Khalil I, Bagchi S. Stream: Low overhead wireless reprogramming for sensor networks. In: Francois P, Shand M, Bonaventure O, eds. 26th Annual IEEE Conference on Computer Communications. Anchorage, Alaska, USA: IEEE Communications Society, 2007. 928–936

    Google Scholar 

  16. Liu Y H, Liu K B, Li M. Passive diagnosis for wireless sensor networks. IEEE/ACM Trans Netw, 2010, 18: 1132–1144

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Computer Science, National University of Defense Technology, Changsha, 410073, China

    ShaoLiang Peng, ShanShan Li, XiangKe Liao, YuXing Peng & Nong Xiao

Authors
  1. ShaoLiang Peng
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. ShanShan Li
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. XiangKe Liao
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. YuXing Peng
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Nong Xiao
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to ShaoLiang Peng.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Peng, S., Li, S., Liao, X. et al. A scalable code dissemination protocol in heterogeneous wireless sensor networks. Sci. China Inf. Sci. 55, 1323–1336 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11432-011-4482-6

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11432-011-4482-6

Keywords

Search

Navigation