A Link-cluster Route Discovery Protocol for Ad Hoc Networks

Abstract

In MANETS, node mobility induces structural changes for routing. We propose a route discovery algorithm for MANET based on the link-cluster architecture. The algorithm selects the clusterheads and gateway nodes, and then builds routing tables for nodes both inside and outside the cluster. The algorithm attempts to minimize the number of clusterheads and gateway nodes to avoid storing redundant data. For intra-cluster routing, the shortest paths are maintained. For inter-cluster routing, we implement routing on-demand (the shortest paths are maintained only for the nodes that need to send packets). The proposed algorithm adapts to arbitrary movement of nodes, and joining and/or leaving of existent nodes.