A Buffer Occupancy Estimation Model for Opportunistic Networks

When designing routing schemes for opportunistic networks (OppNets), node's buffer congestion is one of the major concerns. Most buffer management schemes for OppNets are reactive ones, which require that more messages be transmitted. In this paper, a Buffer Occupancy Estimation Model (denoted BOEM) for OppNets is proposed, which uses the Chernoff's bound to estimate the expected buffer occupancy of any node without involving the communication of messages. Through simulations using both the realistic and synthetic mobility models, the effectiveness of the proposed model is proven, showing that it can significantly reduce the overall quantity of messages sent while leading to reduce node's buffer congestion.