Performance Comparison of Heterogeneous vs Homogeneous Wireless Sensor Networks Under Environmental Attack Conditions

Abstract

Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) are widely used to monitor remote or risky environments through interconnected sensor nodes that gather and send data to a central base station. Due to limited energy and unattended deployment, WSNs are prone to physical-layer attacks—especially environmental attacks, which force unnecessary sensing and drain battery life. This study compares the impact of such attacks on homogeneous (equal energy) and heterogeneous (varied energy) networks using MATLAB simulations with the LEACH protocol. Performance was measured using First Node Death (FND), indicating the start of network failure. Results showed that heterogeneous networks degrade faster due to uneven energy use, while homogeneous networks decline more gradually. These findings guide better WSN design for critical applications by highlighting the role of energy configuration in hostile environments.