An optimized layered cluster-based routing protocol for ad hoc networks

Some of the specific challenges stemming from the ad hoc network are mobility and energy constraints. These intrinsic characteristics make the network management, routing and various networking related tasks more sophisticated. In fact, the most targeted MANET applications are based on collaborative computing where mobile hosts may be involved in team collaborations. Further, as network size increases, communication costs tend to consume a larger proportion of the limited bandwidth. Among the solutions proposed for scaling down large-sized networks, network clustering is one of the most investigated approaches. The basic idea is to select the appropriate nodes able to support additional tasks, so that routing and group communication protocols can be implemented efficiently on top of this virtual backbone. In this context, we propose an enhanced version of LCR (Layered Cluster-based Routing), a hierarchical routing protocol designed for dense and large scale networks. The key feature in this approach is the direction mechanism which limits the area concerned by establishment and maintenance of routes, and consequently reducing the number of dominating nodes involved in routing tasks. Conducted simulations on different scenarios highlight its ability to decrease the energy consumption and wasted bandwidth resources used for routing tasks.