Internetwork Time Synchronization of Mobile Ad Hoc Networks

Abstract

Several time synchronous ad hoc networks may operate in a same geographical area. Although network time synchronization within an individual network has been discussed a lot, internetwork time synchronization relying on time sources the networks carry has not been addressed. Therefore, this paper proposes an internetwork time synchronization procedure that allows to use one network as a time source and share its time, like a global navigation satellite system time, to other networks. In addition, the paper proposes a generic hybrid network time synchronization protocol and analyses its performance using a sensible metric called a mutual consensus. It is shown that the common time is achieved with a limited variance in the networks that operate in the master-slave, distributed or hybrid mode. Provided numerical examples illustrate the behavior of the algorithm and confirm the theoretical findings.