Optimal Jammer Placement to Interdict Wireless Network Services

Abstract

The demand for wireless networks continues to grow as the need for portable, low-cost telecommunications systems increases around the world. Wireless networks are particularly complex because their topologies can change in response to operational requirements or environmental conditions and also because wireless networks are susceptible to electromagnetic interference. In this thesis, we consider the challenges associated with the operation and jamming of so-called wireless mesh networks. In a wireless mesh network, the communication devices (denoted here as a nodes) are uniform in their ability to send and receive transmissions. We formulate and solve two related optimization problems for wireless mesh networks. First, we solve the problem of the network operator, namely: In order to maximize the utility of delivered network traffic, how should one set the power transmission levels for each node, and along what sequence of transmission links should the traffic flow? The second problem we consider involves an intelligent adversary, the attacker, who wants to place jamming devices among a finite number of locations to disrupt the operator's traffic in the worst possible way. We formulate and solve mathematical programs to obtain the optimal operation and jamming of these networks. We develop a computational decision-support tool that affords the rapid reconfiguration and analysis of various deployment scenarios.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jun 01, 2008
Accession Number
ADA483583

Entities

People

  • Arun Shankar

Organizations

  • Naval Postgraduate School

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Electronic Warfare
  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Sensors
  • Space

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Applied Mathematics
  • Communication Systems
  • Computers
  • Electromagnetic Interference
  • Frequency Division Multiple Access
  • Humanitarian Assistance
  • Mesh Networks
  • Mobile Phones
  • Multiple Access
  • Multiplexing
  • Network Topology
  • Networks
  • Operations Research
  • Spreadsheet Software
  • Wireless Communications
  • Wireless Mesh Networks
  • Wireless Networks

Fields of Study

  • Computer science

Readers

  • Adaptive Control and Estimation with Uncertainty in Dynamic Systems.
  • Computer Networking
  • Radio communications and signal processing.