On-Demand Link Weight Routing Protocol with Cross-Layer Communication

Routing protocols face many challenges in Mobile Ad Hoc Networks (MANETs) due to the dynamic nature of wireless medium and unpredictable topological changes. This paper proposes On-Demand Link-Weight (ODLW) routing protocol. ODLW selects an optimum route on the basis of link reliability taking in consideration the link bandwidth, delay and node lifetime. The approach is based on Cross- Layer design where Physical Layer parameters are used as inputs for decision making at the routing layer. The simulation results show a significant improvement over AODV in terms of Network load, Route Discovery time and End-to-end delay.