On the throughput optimization for message dissemination in opportunistic underwater sensor networks

Abstract Opportunistic underwater sensor networks (OUSNs) are deployed for various underwater applications, such as underwater creatures tracking and tactical surveillance. However, the storage capacity of the sensor nodes in such networks may be insufficient, especially when a wealth of data messages are generated rapidly in some emergency response applications. The message dissemination in OUSNs therefore may differ significantly from those in wireless sensor networks or delay-tolerant networks, where network throughput should be taken as one of the primary objectives of network performance. To this end, the strategies for message storing, disseminating and discarding are investigated, and a Message Dissemination Approach for Storage-Limited (MDA-SL) OUSNs is proposed. In MDA-SL, the messages are preferred to be disseminated to the nodes with higher speed or larger residual storage. In addition, the copies of newer messages are inclined to be discarded when their message holders’ storage is full. Simulation results demonstrate the excellent performance of MDA-SL, showing that it can achieve satisfactory network throughput with propagation delay being restricted according to the diverse application requirements.