Energy aware performance evaluation of WSNs

Distributed sensor networks have been discussed for more than 30 years, but the vision
of Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) has been brought into reality only by the rapid advancements
in the areas of sensor design, information technologies, and wireless networks
that have paved the way for the proliferation of WSNs. The unique characteristics of
sensor networks introduce new challenges, amongst which prolonging the sensor lifetime
is the most important. Energy-efficient solutions are required for each aspect of WSN design
to deliver the potential advantages of the WSN phenomenon, hence in both existing
and future solutions for WSNs, energy efficiency is a grand challenge. The main contribution
of this thesis is to present an approach considering the collaborative nature of WSNs
and its correlation characteristics, providing a tool which considers issues from physical
to application layer together as entities to enable the framework which facilitates the
performance evaluation of WSNs. The simulation approach considered provides a clear
separation of concerns amongst software architecture of the applications, the hardware
configuration and the WSN deployment unlike the existing tools for evaluation. The
reuse of models across projects and organizations is also promoted while realistic WSN
lifetime estimations and performance evaluations are possible in attempts of improving
performance and maximizing the lifetime of the network. In this study, simulations are
carried out with careful assumptions for various layers taking into account the real time
characteristics of WSN.
The sensitivity of WSN systems are mainly due to their fragile nature when energy
consumption is considered. The case studies presented demonstrate the importance of
various parameters considered in this study. Simulation-based studies are presented,
taking into account the realistic settings from each layer of the protocol stack. Physical
environment is considered as well. The performance of the layered protocol stack in
realistic settings reveals several important interactions between different layers. These
interactions are especially important for the design of WSNs in terms of maximizing the
lifetime of the network.