Critical5G-Net: Addressing Critical Node Impact on Lifetime and Latency in IoT Networks

In 5G networks, massive Internet of Things (IoT) devices pose challenges like network management and security. Such networks are vulnerable to natural phenomena and attacks due to the lack of physical protection and insufficient security mechanisms. This paper examines that not all nodes are equally affected by their incapacitation; some critical nodes deteriorate the most in the network performance when incapacitated. Our study investigates the effects of eliminating critical nodes on two critical network performance metrics, namely lifetime and latency, using the Mixed Integer Programming (MIP) framework. Numerical evaluations prove that these critical nodes significantly impact lifetime and latency, and their identification is essential for adjusting the service tolerance and improving network maintenance. For example, in a disk-shaped network topology scenario with 100 nodes, if two critical nodes are removed, the lifetime can decrease by 56% when minimum latency is enforced by allowing a 24% latency increase; such lifetime deterioration can be reduced to 13%.