Implementation of a kernel mode IPv6 AODV routing daemon to improve data throughput

The AODV (ad hoc on-demand distance vector) routing protocol performs on-demand route discovery that minimizes the signaling overhead on the wireless channel at the expense of larger session setup delays. While large delays may be acceptable at session set up, they are certainly undesirable during handoffs when the session is already in progress. Our previous work addressed the problem of session handover delay within an ad hoc network connected to the Internet at large via IPv6 MANET gateways. This paper presents an extension of that earlier work by addressing another shortcoming of the AODV routing protocol - the often high overhead involved in maintaining (refreshing) active routes incurred by the active monitoring of a user-mode AODV routing daemon. A Linux kernel-based port of the AODV6 routing daemon and gateway component was developed to minimize the demands placed upon the individual mobile node´s processing capabilities. A real test-bed is implemented and performance benchmarks are presented to demonstrate the viability of the proposed architecture.