DESIGN AND ANALYSIS OF A FUZZY PRIORITY COORDINATOR (FPC) FOR USE IN IMPROVING QUALITY OF SERVICE (QOS) IN MOBILE AD HOC NETWORKS (MANETS) ROUTING.

Abstract

This thesis explores the design and use of a fuzzy priority coordinator (FPC) in Mobile Ad Hoc Networks (MANETS) for the purpose of improving Quality of Service (QoS). A MANET is an independent system of mobile nodes utilizing wireless links. The major challenge in MANETS is adapting multicast communication to environments in which mobility is unlimited and failures are frequent. Such problems increase delay and decrease overall network throughput leading to poor QoS. To improve QoS, priority packet scheduling can be carried out. Its on this basis that the thesis is exploring the design and the analysis of the FPC. The FPC is designed in MATLAB with the help of the fuzzy tool. It has got four inputs which results to 81 rules. This rules guide in the determination of the priority index of a packet to be transmitted. A C++ programme is then developed so as to enable a co-simulation in OPNET for the purpose of analysis. The coordinator is evaluated under a low load and high load network conditions. The deployed applications include VoIP, Video conferencing and file transfer. The FPC is analyzed in graphical comparisons between itself, FIFO and Type of Service (ToS) priority. The parameters under consideration include Mean Opinion Score (MOS), Jitter, packet end to end delay, packet delay variation, download response time and upload response time. The coordinator is found to outperform the other two existing scheduling mechanisms in a wide range of results obtained. It is thus advisable that the FPC can be used in packet coordination in MANETS to improve QoS.