Wireless Sensor Networks

Self-Healing
Professor Jack Stankovic

University of Virginia
2005

WSN Property
Unattended long-term operation
System Initialization
Set system parameters

Adapt to Wireless communication changes

Adapt to environmental changes
Impact on sensor thresholds, etc.

Adapt to failures
Adapt to workload changes
Adapt to power reductions

Self-Healing
One aspect of self-* system
Needs self-monitoring

Self-organizing
Self-managing
Self-calibration (turn-key system?)
Self-power management

Called Autonomic Computing

Self-Healing
Relates to Fault Tolerance
Mask (correct) an error

ECC
Are you healed with respect to that error?
Yes for that error, but maybe not the cause!

Detect an error

Lost message
Re-send message

Ignore error (design for it)

Robustness - Act in presence of error (are you

healed)?
Example: WSN still works if 20% of nodes are
dead

Self-Healing
Detect and heal
Example: Detect neighbor is dead, try restarting
it and if successful -> healed

From a system perspective

Wide spectrum of capabilities
Not binary

Self-Healing
In Localization
Heal: If node fails to obtain location during
walking GPS, it gets info from neighbors
and uses tri-lateration
Heal: A node detects that it lost its
localization information, then redetermines it from its neighbors

Recall APIT Algorithm

Assumption: An area covered
with heterogeneous nodes.
Anchor nodes equipped
with high-powered
transmitter.
Location information
obtained from GPS.
Location estimation by
Area-based Approach.
Narrow down the location of
one node by deciding its
presence inside or outside the
triangles formed by the
anchors.

Example: 14 anchors, but

There are 100s of nodes like A

GreenAnchors

Estimated
Location

Self-Healing
In Routing
Multiple parents in backbone tree
If detect one parent is dead, use the other
Local decision on choosing alternative parent is
fast
Heal: Re-create n-parent tree on system
rotation

In MAC
Retransmit lost packet
Heal: Enough lost packets -> change power
level or other thresholds

Self-Healing
In System Initialization
Each phase is coordinated and sequential
If a node is not in-step it becomes silent
Heal: Silent node (possibly) becomes active
at next system rotation

Time-Driven System Operation

Phase II

Phase III

Phase IV

Time Sync

Localization

Asymmetri Detection

Phase V
Network Partition & Diffusion
Tree Constrcution

Dormant Section
Phase I

Start

System Initialization

Event Tracking

Phase VI

Sentry Selection

Phase VIII

Power Mgmt
RESET

Wakeup

Service

Power Mgmt
Phase VIII

Event Tracking

Tripwire Section

Phase VII

Health Report

Self-Healing
In Wakeup
Decentralized and if some nodes fail to
wake-up it is not a problem because many
others will be awake
Heal: If it keeps happening then perhaps
increase wakeup preamble and if this works
then the wakeup has been healed

Duty Cycle
Preamble
W
W

Self-Healing
In Sensing

Fail-stop use of many sensors in WSN and

since targets move, problems are masked
(robust)
Heal: Byzantine failure detect that a node
is continuously reporting and shut it down

In Tracking

If group leader fails

Heal: Info is still with the group members
and is passed to next leader

Group Management
(Tracking)

Base Station

Underlying Self-Healing in
WSN
Limited Effect
Clock sync, neighbor discovery, etc. are highly
decentralized and local. Single node failures
(hopefully) only affect that node and do not
propagate to the rest of the network.

Self-Healing Mechanism
System Rotation
Can correct many issues
Can be executed based on time
Could be extended to re-run when many
failures are detected, BUT this means
extra detection messages which affects
lifetime and stealthiness!

Security in WSN
Solutions from the start
System must operate in presence of faults
AND attacks
Framework for security updates as attacks
evolve over time
Solution: Adaptable Self-Healing as Security
Support in Wireless Sensor Networks

Confluence of Techniques
Self-Healing
Aspects
Decentralized control with diversity
Wireless downloads

Adaptive Self-Healing/
Aspects
Self-Healing
Component-Based WSN

Partition

Routing

Point Cuts

Download New Entities

M
O
N
I
T
O
R

Advice

Decentralized Control
Redundancy
Mask faults
Uniformity a problem
Diversity

Wireless Download
New executables (or WSN individual
components)
Includes monitoring

New Join Points and Point Cuts

New Advice

Summary
Unattended operation over long lifetime
Require self-*

Good software design and

implementation
Good FT techniques
Security attack models and healing
Denial of Service
Mis-information (may be of more use in
some situations)