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MODLEACH: A Variant of LEACH for WSNs
D. Mahmood, N. Javaid, S. Mahmood, S. Qureshi, A. M. Memon, T. Zaman
TL;DR
Wireless sensor networks require routing that manages severe node-energy constraints and communication overhead. The paper modifies LEACH through energy-aware cluster-head replacement and dual transmission-power levels, then adds hard and soft thresholds. MODLEACH improves the studied performance measures over LEACH, while MODLEACHST performs best among the compared protocols.
Problem
Wireless sensor networks require efficient routing because sensor nodes have limited power and networks may contain thousands of nodes generating information.
Method
The paper modifies LEACH with residual-energy-based cluster-head replacement and dual power levels for intra-cluster and longer-range communication, then applies hard and soft thresholds.
Results
MODLEACH improves cluster-head formation, throughput, and network life over LEACH, while MODLEACHST performs best among the compared protocols.
Takeaways & Limitations
The study supports combining efficient cluster-head replacement, multiple transmission-power levels, and threshold-based operation within clustered routing protocols.
Abstract
from arXiv · showhide
Wireless sensor networks are appearing as an emerging need for mankind. Though, Such networks are still in research phase however, they have high potential to be applied in almost every field of life. Lots of research is done and a lot more is awaiting to be standardized. In this work, cluster based routing in wireless sensor networks is studied precisely. Further, we modify one of the most prominent wireless sensor network's routing protocol "LEACH" as modified LEACH (MODLEACH) by introducing \emph{efficient cluster head replacement scheme} and \emph{dual transmitting power levels}. Our modified LEACH, in comparison with LEACH out performs it using metrics of cluster head formation, through put and network life. Afterwards, hard and soft thresholds are implemented on modified LEACH (MODLEACH) that boast the performance even more. Finally a brief performance analysis of LEACH, Modified LEACH (MODLEACH), MODLEACH with hard threshold (MODLEACHHT) and MODLEACH with soft threshold (MODLEACHST) is undertaken considering metrics of throughput, network life and cluster head replacements.
I. INTRODUCTION
Wireless sensor networks use constrained sensor nodes to acquire, process, and transmit information, creating a need for energy-efficient routing and data handling.
- Sensor nodes, also called motes, sense, process, transmit, and receive information while operating with their own limited power sources.
- Power constraints make sensing, computing, and communication difficult for tiny wireless sensors.
- Routing protocols and physical systems must maximize network lifetime from limited energy supplies.
- Wireless sensor networks also face the challenge of aggregating and fusing information from potentially thousands of nodes.
II. RELATED WORK
Related work addresses wireless sensor-network communication through direct, multihop, and cluster-based routing, with LEACH and threshold-based protocols among prominent approaches.
- Routing protocols for sensor networks are categorized as direct transmission, hop-to-hop transmission, or cluster-based algorithms.
- Direct transmission can cause distant nodes to die early because reaching a faraway base station requires more power.
- Minimum transmission energy uses multihop communication to send data toward base stations.
- LEACH established cluster-head election, while SEP and DEEC further enhanced that procedure.
- TEEN introduced hard and soft thresholds, enabling reactive routing behavior and potentially improving network lifetime.
III. MOTIVATION
LEACH can waste energy through frequent cluster-head replacement and uniform transmission power, motivating residual-energy-based replacement and distance-aware power levels.
- LEACH elects new cluster heads and rebuilds clusters every round, creating unnecessary routing overhead and energy use.
- A cluster head with substantial residual energy may be replaced by a lower-energy node during the next election.
- LEACH uses the same amplification power regardless of transmitter–receiver distance.
- An efficient replacement algorithm and differentiated transmission power are therefore needed to conserve energy.
IV. PROPOSED SCHEME
MODLEACH modifies LEACH with residual-energy-based cluster-head retention and two transmission-power levels tailored to communication distance and type.
- MODLEACH retains an existing cluster head for the next round when its residual energy exceeds a required threshold.
- If the cluster head falls below the threshold, MODLEACH replaces it using the LEACH election procedure.
- The scheme uses two amplification-power levels according to transmission conditions.
- Intra-cluster, inter-cluster, and cluster-head-to-base-station transmissions are distinguished in the clustered network.
- Lower power for intra-cluster communication than for cluster-head-to-base-station communication is intended to save energy and reduce packet drops, collisions, or interference.
V. EXPERIMENTS, RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The experiments evaluate MODLEACH and threshold variants against LEACH using simulation-based measures of network lifetime, throughput, and cluster-head formation. MODLEACHST achieves the strongest overall performance among the studied protocols.
- Simulations use MATLAB R2009a and confidence intervals to produce performance plots.
- MODLEACH improves throughput, network lifetime, and cluster-head formation compared with LEACH.
- MODLEACHHT further improves efficiency, while MODLEACHST performs best among all evaluated protocols.
- MODLEACH uses efficient cluster-head replacement and dual transmitting power levels for inter- and intra-cluster communication.
1) Network Life Time:
Network lifetime is highest for MODLEACHST because its soft-threshold operation limits transmissions while retaining MODLEACH’s energy-aware mechanisms. MODLEACHHT ranks second, whereas LEACH has the lowest lifetime.
- MODLEACHST gives maximum network lifetime among all protocols.Soft thresholds transmit only after a prescribed change in sensed data, limiting transmissions and preserving residual energy.
- MODLEACHHT achieves the second-best network lifetime by implementing a hard threshold.It transmits when the sensed value exceeds the threshold, but does so whenever the threshold is broken.
2) Throughput:
Throughput comparisons distinguish proactive LEACH variants from reactive threshold variants. MODLEACHST achieves the maximum throughput, while MODLEACH exceeds LEACH.
- MODLEACHST achieves maximum throughput in the simulated results.The paper attributes this to better network lifetime and efficient cluster-head replacement.
- MODLEACH provides better throughput than LEACH.Dual transmitting power levels reduce packet-drop ratio through different amplification energies for transmissions.
- LEACH and MODLEACH are proactive, whereas MODLEACHHT and MODLEACHST are reactive.The paper characterizes proactive protocols as periodic-transmission and reactive protocols as event-driven.
3) Cluster Head Formation and Scope:
The study compares routing protocols through network lifetime, packet transmission, and cluster-head formation. MODLEACH initially stabilizes cluster-head counts before converging toward LEACH-like formation behavior.
- Network Lifetime: Network lifetime is compared using the number of dead nodes across the evaluated protocols.
- Packet Transmission: Throughput is assessed by comparing packets transmitted to the base station and cluster heads.
- Cluster Head Formation: MODLEACH initially maintains a stable number of cluster heads, then its formation behavior becomes similar to LEACH.This occurs because cluster heads with energy above a defined threshold continue into subsequent rounds.
VI. CONCLUSION
The paper proposes MODLEACH to reduce energy consumption through residual-energy-based cluster-head replacement and dual transmission power levels. It further applies hard and soft thresholds for comparative evaluation, while identifying analytical routing-load analysis and broader protocol application as future work.
- Conclusion: MODLEACH modifies LEACH with efficient cluster-head replacement and dual transmitting power levels for intra-cluster and base-station communication.
- Conclusion: Cluster heads are replaced when their energy falls below a threshold, reducing the routing load associated with repeated replacement.
- Conclusion: Hard and soft thresholds are implemented on MODLEACH to compare throughput and energy utilization.
- Conclusion: Future work will analytically calculate routing load and apply the mechanisms to other wireless sensor network clustering protocols.