Abstract

We propose a general framework for broadcasting in ad hoc networks through self-pruning. The approach is based on selecting a small subset of hosts (also called nodes) to form a forward node set to carry out a broadcast process. Each node, upon receiving a broadcast packet, determines whether to forward the packet based on two neighborhood coverage conditions proposed in this paper. These coverage conditions depend on neighbor connectivity and history of visited nodes, and in general, resort to global network information. Using local information such as k-hop neighborhood information, the forward node set is selected through a distributed and local pruning process. The forward node set can be constructed and maintained through either a proactive process (i.e., “up-to-date”) or a reactive process (i.e., “on-the-fly”). Several existing broadcast algorithms can be viewed as special cases of the coverage conditions with k-hop neighborhood information. Simulation results show that new algorithms, which are more efficient than existing ones, can be derived from the coverage conditions, and self-pruning based on 2- or 3-hop neighborhood information is relatively cost-effective.