Enhanced Flooding Algorithms Introducing the Concept of Biotic Growth

Hideki TODE
Makoto WADA
Kazuhiko KINOSHITA
Toshihiro MASAKI
Koso MURAKAMI

Publication
IEICE TRANSACTIONS on Communications   Vol.E88-B    No.3    pp.903-910
Publication Date: 2005/03/01
Online ISSN: 
DOI: 10.1093/ietcom/e88-b.3.903
Print ISSN: 0916-8516
Type of Manuscript: Special Section PAPER (Special Section on Ubiquitous Networks)
Category: Software Platform Technologies
Keyword: 
flooding algorithm,  ubiquitous network,  sensor network,  ad-hoc network,  biotic growth,  

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Summary: 
A flooding algorithm is an indispensable and fundamental network control mechanism for achieving some tasks, such notifying all nodes of some information, transferring data with high reliability, getting some information from all nodes, or to reserve a route by flooding the messages in the network. In particular, the flooding algorithm is greatly effective in the heterogeneous and dynamic network environment such as so-called ubiquitous networks, whose topology is indefinite or changes dynamically and whose nodal function may be simple and less intelligent. Actually, it is applied to grasp the network topology in a sensor network or an ad-hoc network, or to retrieve content information by mobile agent systems. A flooding algorithm has the advantages of robustness and optimality by parallel processing of messages. However, the flooding mechanism has a fundamental disadvantages: it causes the message congestion in the network, and eventually increases the processing time until the flooding control is finished. In this paper, we propose and evaluate methods for producing a more efficient flooding algorithm by adopting the growth processes of primitive creatures, such as molds or microbes.