Stability-based multi-hop clustering protocol

This paper presents a clustering protocol that is able to identify and manage moving network clusters. Such clusters can enable communication and shared use of resources within a group of nodes, and also make optimizations related to routing and mobility management possible. The protocol detects clusters with a stability-based mechanism that uses the associativity of the nodes and link quality as its criteria. After the cluster is set up, individual nodes can join and leave the cluster, and several clusters can be merged into larger multi-hop clusters. The protocol also features a clustercast mechanism for reducing forwarding of broadcast control messages. The protocol's functionality was evaluated with simulations whose results show that the clustering protocol identifies clusters and can perform the basic management operations. It was discovered that the overhead of the neighbor discovery mechanism is small, but the real challenge is in choosing the right parameters, which in turn depend on the used environment and radio technology characteristics.