Scalable Base-Station Model-Based Multicast in Wireless Sensor Networks

Multicast is essential for wireless sensor network (WSN)applications. Existing multicast protocols in WSNs are often designedin a P2P pattern, assuming small number of destination nodes andfrequent changes in network topologies. In order to truly adoptmulticast in WSNs, we propose a base-station model-based multicast,SenCast, to meet the general requirements of applications. SenCast isscalable and energy-efficient for large group communications in WSNs.Theoretical analysis shows that SenCast is able to approximate theMinimum Nonleaf Nodes (MNN) problem to a ratio of \ln|R| (R is the setof all destinations), the best known lowest bound. We evaluate our designthrough comprehensive simulations and prototype implementations onMica2 motes. Experimental results demonstrate that SenCast outperformsprevious multicast protocols including the most recent work uCast.