Game Theory for Wireless Ad Hoc Networks

Abstract

An ad hoc network typically refers to any set of networks where all devices have equal status on a network and are free to associate with any other ad hoc network device in link range. In particular, ad hoc network often refers to a mode of operation of IEEE 802.11 wireless networks. A wireless ad hoc network is a decentralized type of wireless network. The network is ad hoc because it does not rely on a pre-existing infrastructure, such as routers in wired networks or access points in managed (infrastructure) wireless networks. The decentralized nature of wireless ad hoc networks makes them suitable for a variety of applications where central nodes cannot be relied on and may improve the scalability of networks compared to wireless managed networks, though theoretical and practical limits to the overall capacity of such networks have been identified. This chapter explores this.