Broadcast and multicast routing in ad-hoc networks with predetermined clustering

Abstract

A mobile ad-hoc network (MANET) is a self-configuring network of mobile devices connected by wireless links in which each device or node is free to move independently in any direction. An ad-hoc routing protocol is a convention that controls how nodes decide which way to route packets between computing devices in a mobile ad-hoc network. Efficient routing mechanisms in MANETs are a subject of long and deep research and are governed by factors such as network density, node mobility and type of application. This work proposes an efficient routing algorithm for MANETs that primarily broadcast messages to all the nodes or to specific groups of nodes in the network. Nodes in such networks move in groups and this property is effectively utilized to design a routing protocol for MANETs which primarily execute applications of such kind. The routing protocol is implemented and tested on a discrete event simulator and its results are compared with other generic MANET routing protocols. The thesis also discusses the strengths of this design approach and areas of improvement that can be addressed in future work.