PCSM: an efficient multihop proximity aware clustering scheme for mobile peer-to-peer systems

A mobile peer-to-peer (MP2P) system results from overlaying a peer-to-peer (P2P) system over a mobile ad hoc network (MANET). A cluster/superpeer based architecture can be used as an efficient solution to reduce communication redundancy and network traffic induced by flooding. In this paper, we propose an efficient multihop Proximity aware Clustering Scheme for Mobile peer-to-peer systems (PCSM). PCSM is based on the physical proximity of peers and reduces the mismatch between the P2P overlay and the network layer. PCSM integrates three factors to allow the new peer to efficiently select the cluster to join, namely the number of physical hops, the cluster size and the availability of the clusterhead. Additionally, a maintenance process manages the mobility of peer. The simulation results show that our overlay topology fits the MANET underlay and that PCSM enhances the results of the search process in terms of the average file-discovery delay and false-negative ratio. Additionally, PCSM performs better than the existing cluster-based P2P overlay regarding of load balancing and routing overhead.