oCast: Optimal Multicast Routing Protocol for Wireless Sensor Networks

—In this paper, we describe oCast, an energy-optimal multicast routing protocol for wireless sensor networks. The general minimum-energy multicast problem is NP-hard. Intermittent connectivity that results from duty-cycling further complicates the problem. Nevertheless, we present both a centralized and distributed algorithm that are provably optimal when the number of destinations is small. This model is motivated by scenarios where sensors report to a small number of base stations or where data needs to be replicated on a small number of other nodes. We further propose an extended version of oCast, called Delay Bounded oCast (DB-oCast), which can discover optimal multicast trees under a predefined delay bound. Finally, we demonstrate the advantages of our schemes through both theoretical analysis and simulations.

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2009
• Where: ICNP
• Authors: Lu Su, Bolin Ding, Yong Yang, Tarek F. Abdelzaher, Guohong Cao, Jennifer C. Hou
• Keywords: Energy-optimal Multicast Routing, ICNP 2009, Minimum-energy Multicast Problem, Multicast, Network Protocols