Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University Hyderabad B.Tech IV ADHOC AND SENSOR NETWORKS Previous Question Paper (September - 2022 - R16)

A Mobile Ad-hoc Network (MANET) is a collection of autonomous mobile nodes that communicate over wireless links without any pre-existing infrastructure. Its key characteristics include:

• Dynamic Network Topology: Nodes are free to move arbitrarily, causing the network topology to change rapidly and unpredictably.
• Autonomous Infrastructure-less Operation: Each node acts as both a host and a router, participating in packet forwarding without centralized administration or base stations.
• Multi-hop Routing: Communication between two nodes beyond their transmission range requires intermediate nodes to relay data packets.
• Resource Constraints: Nodes often rely on battery power and have limited computational and storage capabilities, necessitating energy-efficient protocols.
• Distributed Operation: Control and management functions are distributed among all nodes, ensuring no single point of failure.
• Fluctuating Link Quality: Wireless links are prone to interference, signal fading, and path loss, leading to varying link capacities.

MANETs are highly versatile due to their rapid deployment capabilities. Novel applications include:

• Disaster Recovery and Emergency Services: In scenarios where infrastructure is destroyed (e.g., earthquakes, floods), MANETs provide immediate communication networks for search and rescue teams.
• Tactical Networks: Military operations rely on MANETs for secure, mobile, and ad-hoc communication between soldiers, vehicles, and aircraft on the battlefield.
• Vehicular Ad-hoc Networks (VANETs): Used for intelligent transportation systems, enabling vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) communication to improve road safety and traffic management.
• Personal Area Networks (PANs): Short-range ad-hoc connectivity between personal devices like smartphones, tablets, and wearable sensors without needing a central access point.
• Collaborative Computing: Enabling temporary, ad-hoc workgroups in conferences or classrooms to share files and resources instantly without a local area network.
• Environmental Monitoring: Deploying mobile sensors to track wildlife patterns or pollution levels in remote areas where wired infrastructure is impossible to install.