Analysis of a clock synchronization protocol for wireless sensor networks

  • Authors:

  • Faranak Heidarian;Julien Schmaltz;Frits Vaandrager

  • Affiliations:

  • Institute for Computing and Information Sciences, Radboud University Nijmegen, P.O. Box 9010, 6500 GL Nijmegen, The Netherlands;Institute for Computing and Information Sciences, Radboud University Nijmegen, P.O. Box 9010, 6500 GL Nijmegen, The Netherlands and School of Computer Science, Open University of the Netherlands, ...;Institute for Computing and Information Sciences, Radboud University Nijmegen, P.O. Box 9010, 6500 GL Nijmegen, The Netherlands

  • Venue:
  • Theoretical Computer Science
  • Year:
  • 2012

Quantified Score

Hi-index 5.23

Visualization

Abstract

The Dutch company Chess develops a wireless sensor network (WSN) platform using an epidemic communication model. One of the greatest challenges in the design is to find suitable mechanisms for clock synchronization. In this paper, we study a proposed clock synchronization protocol for the Chess platform. First, we model the protocol as a network of timed automata and verify various instances using the Uppaal model checker. Next, we present a full parametric analysis of the protocol for the special case of cliques (networks with full connectivity), that is, we give constraints on the parameters that are both necessary and sufficient for correctness. These results have been checked using the proof assistant Isabelle. We report on the exhaustive analysis of the protocol for networks with four nodes, and we present a negative result for the special case of line topologies: for any instantiation of the parameters, the protocol will eventually fail if the network grows.