Reputation-based scheme for delay tolerant networks

The message propagation process in DTNs characterized with intermittent connectivity and network partitioning follows a store-carry-and-forward manner, and bundles, the intransit messages in DTNs can be opportunistic routed, which rely on the hypothesis that DTN nodes serves as forwarders and custodians for others honestly. However, due to constrained resources, nodes hardly resist their egoism nature. To address this problem, we propose a reputation-based scheme for DTNs to minimize the impairment brought by selfishness. A protocol of bundle forwarding and a mechanism of behavior recording are presented for the detection of misbehaving. The simulation results show that our proposal is effective.