Understanding the multicast delay performance of mobile ad hoc networks (MANETs) lays the foundation for multicast-intensive applications in future highly heterogeneous wireless network environments. This paper explores, for the first time, the multicast delay performance of MANETs under a general cooperative multicast scheme for routing protocol. The multicast scheme is based on two-hop relay multicast algorithm, where a packet can be sent to several relay nodes by source node, and destination nodes receive the packet from these relay nodes or their source node. The destination nodes may serve as relay nodes to forward packet to other ones with some probability. The multicast scheme is general in the sense that it can cover the available two-hop relay multicast algorithms with full cooperation and non-cooperation as special cases. Moreover, our multicast scheme can also cover two-hop relay unicast algorithm as special case when the number of destination nodes equals to one. To study the multicast delay performance, we first develop a Markov chain theoretical framework to fully characterize the packet delivery process under the general cooperative multicast scheme. With the help of this theoretical framework, we derive analytical expressions for the mean and variance of multicast delay. Finally, we present extensive simulation and theoretical results to validate our multicast delay analysis and to illustrate the impacts of network parameters on multicast delay performance.

了解移动自组织网络（MANET）的多播延迟性能为将来高度异构的无线网络环境中的多播密集型应用奠定了基础。本文首次探讨了通用协作组播路由协议下MANET的组播延迟性能。多播方案基于两跳中继多播算法，在该算法中，数据包可以由源节点发送到多个中继节点，而目标节点则从这些中继节点或其源节点接收数据包。目的节点可以充当中继节点，以某种可能性将数据包转发到其他节点。从特殊意义上讲，它可以完全合作和不合作地覆盖可用的两跳中继多播算法，因此该组播方案是通用的。此外，当目标节点的数量等于1时，我们的组播方案还可以涵盖两跳中继单播算法。为了研究组播延迟性能，我们首先开发了一个马尔可夫链理论框架，以全面描述通用协作组播方案下的数据包传递过程。在此理论框架的帮助下，我们得出多播延迟的均值和方差的解析表达式。最后，我们提供了广泛的仿真和理论结果，以验证我们的多播延迟分析，并说明网络参数对多播延迟性能的影响。我们首先开发了一个马尔可夫链理论框架，以全面描述通用协作多播方案下的数据包传递过程。在此理论框架的帮助下，我们得出多播延迟的均值和方差的解析表达式。最后，我们提供了广泛的仿真和理论结果，以验证我们的多播延迟分析，并说明网络参数对多播延迟性能的影响。我们首先开发了一个马尔可夫链理论框架，以全面描述通用协作组播方案下的数据包传递过程。在此理论框架的帮助下，我们得出多播延迟的均值和方差的解析表达式。最后，我们提供了广泛的仿真和理论结果，以验证我们的多播延迟分析并说明网络参数对多播延迟性能的影响。