A Distributed Dynamic Frequency Allocation Algorithm For Ad Hoc Networks

We propose a distributed dynamic frequency allocation algorithm that achieves performance close to that of a centralized optimal algorithm. In our network model, nodes are grouped into a number of clusters. Each cluster chooses its transmission frequency band based on its knowledge of the interference that it experiences. The convergence of the proposed distributed algorithm to a sub-optimal frequency allocation pattern is proved. For some specific cases of spatial distributions of the clusters in the network, asymptotic bounds on the performance of the algorithm are derived and comparisons to the performance of optimal centralized solutions are made. These analytic results and additional simulation studies verify performance close to that of an optimum centralized frequency allocation algorithm.