# Connection-Aware Digital Twin for Mobile Adhoc Networks in the 5G Era
## 2 Related Works  
Monitorization of 5G-MANETs has motivated a large collection of works over the years [5]. These approaches provide a set of outcomes and variables about the network, enabling a deep understanding of the communication processes and the impact of contextual events. However, most of these works focus on evaluating the performance of routing protocols, instead of monitoring the global actions of the network [5]. Also, most of the proposals are centered on providing customized virtual scenarios, mainly due to the significant reduction in time and resource investment regarding physical testbeds [15]. In monitoring approaches, the main focus is on the performance evaluation of routing protocols, especially in simulations [4]. This is mainly due to the significant reduction in costs and time regarding real testbeds [4; 15]. As a result, it is possible to appreciate that most of the monitoring tools are focused on virtual contexts [4; 6; 15; 16; 17; 18]. However, there are relevant works that aim to respond to the necessity of representing the events of the MANET [7; 8; 19; 20]. The work proposed in [19] provides a communication architecture focused on monitoring real-time events from sensors, aiming to proactively detect hazards from landslides. For this, a MANET is applied to broadcast notifications to the nearby population while utilizing cellular communication to monitor the resulting topology. Thus, the approach combines the monitoring of fixed sensors with the study of MANET behavior. Following a similar approach, the proposal in [20] analyzes the use of ad-hoc networks to monitor critical contextual variables, specifically using MANETs to notify emergencies. In both cases, the monitoring processes involve MANETs but are not focused on providing detailed performance analysis. Additionally, disconnections between nodes are not considered in the operation and are instead regarded as potential challenges [20]. Other works utilize MANETs for communication and system monitoring. In the work [21], these networks are applied to communicate with Internet of Things (IoT) systems. A connection-aware routing protocol is proposed, which monitors the global topology and active connections. This ensures the availability of communication paths, while also considering energy consumption. As a result, the protocol selects the most suitable path within the topology. Similarly, the proposal in [22] applies MANETs in healthcare environments. This scenario is particularly relevant due to its demands for real-time transmissions, which are addressed using a routing protocol. However, the advances in low latency are not oriented toward providing an interoperable architecture. In the case of [8], the work proposes an entity tracking solution to monitor targets in critical scenarios using swarms of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). While UAVs are coordinated to monitor the presence of entities, this approach is not a suitable solution for monitoring generalist MANETs. However, the system introduces significant advancements in prediction and real-time management of events. Consequently, these monitoring approaches do not fully address global monitoring requirements and the challenges of disconnections. Nevertheless, there are some implementations that combine DT and MANETs. DT has become one of the most relevant research lines in recent years, revolutionizing a wide range of industries by offering unprecedented capabilities for real-time monitoring, simulation, and optimization of physical processes. Its applications across fields such as industry [23], healthcare [24], autonomous mobility [25], and communications [26] have positioned DT as a disruptive paradigm for improving the monitoring and virtual representation of physical processes and systems. In the realm of communications, DT has been investigated in various studies, particularly with a focus on MANETs [14], networks [7] and Mobile Edge Computing (MEC) [25; 27; 28].