A Simple Network of Nodes Moving on the Circle

Abstract: Two simple Markov processes are examined, one in discrete and one in continuous time, arising from idealized versions of a transmission protocol for mobile, delay-tolerant networks. We consider two independent walkers moving with constant speed on either the discrete or continuous circle, and changing directions at independent geometric (respectively, exponential) times. One of the walkers carries a message that wishes to travel as far and as fast as possible in the clockwise direction. The message stays with its current carrier unless the two walkers meet, the carrier is moving counter-clockwise, and the other walker is moving clockwise. In that case, the message jumps to the other walker. The long-term average clockwise speed of the message is computed. An explicit expression is derived via the solution of an associated boundary value problem in terms of the generator of the underlying Markov process. The average transmission cost is also similarly computed, measured as the long-term number of jumps the message makes per unit time. The tradeoff between speed and cost is examined, as a function of the underlying problem parameters.