  The performance of mobile ad hoc networks in general and that of the routing
algorithm, in particular, can be heavily affected by the intrinsic dynamic
nature of the underlying topology. In this paper, we build a new
analytical/numerical framework that characterizes nodes' mobility and the
evolution of links between them. This formulation is based on a stationary
Markov chain representation of link connectivity. The existence of a link
between two nodes depends on their distance, which is governed by the mobility
model. In our analysis, nodes move randomly according to an Ornstein-Uhlenbeck
process using one tuning parameter to obtain different levels of randomness in
the mobility pattern. Finally, we propose an entropy-rate-based metric that
quantifies link uncertainty and evaluates its stability. Numerical results show
that the proposed approach can accurately reflect the random mobility in the
network and fully captures the link dynamics. It may thus be considered a
valuable performance metric for the evaluation of the link stability and
connectivity in these networks.
