Emulation-Based Performance Evaluation of the Delay Tolerant Networking (DTN) in Dynamic Network Topologies

Abstract

Delay Tolerant Networking (DTN) is designed to achieve reliable data transmission in resource constrained networks. When it is applied to dynamic networks, there is a lack of research on the evaluation of its performance with the thorough consideration for the impacts of key factors of network components, as well as the configuration of the DTN implementation. In this paper, we address the performance issue of DTN in dynamic networks by conducting a series of emulation-based experiments. Particularly, we first design an emulation platform based on the Common Open Research Emulator (CORE), which can be used to emulate and evaluate the network performance of DTNs and other protocols in dynamic networks. We then design a set of scenario groups and conduct a thorough quantitative evaluation to understand the impacts of individual dynamic network factors on the performance of DTNs. The experimental results validate the performance and reliability of the DTN in dynamic networks. Based on the experimental results, we are able to provide general guidelines to evaluate an application for the potential benefits of DTN, and the direction of optimizing the configuration for different applications in dynamic networks.