# Estimation of the Achievable Performance of Mobile Ad Hoc Networks with Optimal Link State Routing
## 4 Discussion  
Let us discuss the issues related to network scalability. Network scalability in this context refers to the assessment of the potential distance and area over which the network can reliably and qualitatively transmit data of different service classes. Factors influencing network scalability include the allowable distance between nodes and the maximum distance between end transmitter and receiver nodes. The scalability of the network is influenced by the factors analyzed above: route acquisition time, routing overhead, end-to-end delay, network topology and data transmission paths, and signal loss along the transmission path between nodes. The calculated value of route acquisition time ranges from 100 ms to 1.5 s, depending on the number of nodes in the network (from 50 to 500, respectively). Considering the quality of service requirements and other characteristics, this duration can be considered satisfactory. However, this calculation assumes that nodes do not transmit other packets during the route establishment. Therefore, if there is channel congestion between nodes, the route acquisition time may increase. The solution to this problem is possible with the help of certain network settings, in which not all the bandwidth of the channel is allocated for route finding. The size and frequency of sending routing packets can also be defined. This will reduce the impact of transmitted service packets on the channel bandwidth. The routing overhead, expressed as the ratio of useful packets to control packets transmitted per minute by a single node, indicates that each node generates no more than 5% of control traffic out of 100% of the transmitted traffic, with the number of other nodes ranging from 500 to 1000, depending on the bandwidths of 40 MHz and 80 MHz. However, if the number of control packets to be sent to not only the nearest neighbors (as considered in the calculations) but also for topology control messages from other nodes needs to be taken into account, this ratio may increase for different network topologies. The main method aimed at mitigating the impact of this factor is the MPR technology, which significantly reduces the number of control messages transmitted for network topology control. By selecting the most connected nodes to other nodes, conventionally speaking, a network graph tree is constructed in which all terminal nodes transmit only one topology control message each to the most connected nodes, which propagate the topology information among themselves and with the terminal nodes. The most favorable topology in terms of minimizing overhead transmission is to have a significant number of branches from central nodes. However, the central nodes themselves should not form an extended line. Unlike the previous conclusion, it can be stated with certainty that the path of packet transmission from the terminal node transmitter to the terminal node receiver forms an extended line of multiple nodes with possible branching. The paper shows that depending on the class of the quality of service and the bandwidth of the connection between the nodes, the number of nodes on the path of data packet transmission can vary from 24 to 238 nodes, assuming a full load of the connections between the nodes. With the presence of relay nodes that do not generate traffic during packet transmission, the maximum number of nodes can be increased to 340. It should also be noted that in the scenario of packet transmission from all nodes to one gateway node, it is possible to increase the number of nodes on the packet transmission route by approximately one and a half to two times. The network topology also significantly affects network scalability. Provided that the part of the nodes carrying traffic through the path from the transmitter end node to the source end node is in a branch from one of the nodes, it is possible to increase the number of nodes by a factor of two or three.