Abstract
We investigate the channel formation in a Mobile Ad Hoc Network (MANET) using the NS-2 simulator. The results show that the normalized node density is a good measure for predicting the performance of a MANET: for the normalized node density of 2.8 two nodes in a MANET running the AODV routing protocol stay connected 90% of the time. For the DSR protocol this is only 70%. The results may be used in deciding how many nodes would be required in a MANET to cover a particular area, and as a future benchmark for comparing different MANET routing protocols.