Resilient Wireless Sensor Networks Using Topology Control: A Review

Area of Science:

• Computer Science
• Network Engineering
• Cybersecurity

Background:

• Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) are vulnerable to node failures from unreliable connections, attacks, and resource limits.
• Network k-connectivity, tolerating k-1 node failures, is crucial for WSN self-healing capability.

Purpose of the Study:

• To survey resilience issues in WSNs, focusing on topology control and multi-path routing.
• To provide a guideline for designing resilient WSNs by reviewing theoretical results and approaches.

Main Methods:

• Discussion of transmission and failure models impacting WSN resilience research.
• Review of theoretical results and topology control approaches for k-connectivity at different deployment stages.
• Analysis of multi-path routing protocols and identification of NP-complete problems in topology control.

Main Results:

• WSN resilience can be enhanced through topology control and multi-path routing strategies.
• Theoretical results and practical approaches for achieving k-connectivity are presented for pre-deployment, post-deployment, and re-deployment phases.
• Identification of complex computational problems (NP-complete/hard) within WSN topology control.

Conclusions:

• Designing resilient WSNs requires careful consideration of topology control and routing protocols.
• Achieving robust k-connectivity is vital for WSNs operating in failure-prone environments.
• Open challenges in WSN resilience research are highlighted, guiding future work.