A Partition-Tolerant Manycast Algorithm for Disaster Area Networks

Information dissemination in disaster scenarios requires timely and energy-efficient communication in intermittently connected networks. When the existing infrastructure is damaged or overloaded, we suggest the use of a manycast algorithm that runs over a wireless mobile ad hoc network, and overcomes partitions using a store-and-forward mechanism. This paper presents a random walk gossip protocol that uses an efficient data structure to keep track of already informed nodes with minimal signaling. Avoiding unnecessary transmissions also makes it less prone to overloads. Experimental evaluation shows higher delivery ratio, lower latency, and lower overhead compared to a recently published algorithm.