A hierarchical cross-layer protocol for group communication in MANET

The study of group communication in MANET can be challenging due to its highly dynamic topology, limited wireless bandwidth and constraint of mobile node´s capability. Generally speaking, a tree-based scheme for group communication can avoid forwarding unnecessary duplicate data. However, to maintain a strict structure is not an easy task and the data delivery can be highly unreliable in the dynamic environment of MANET. Approaches like flooding or gossip can be more reliable through redundant routing paths, but are wasting a lot of bandwidth especially when the group size is large. In this paper, a hierarchical protocol using cross-layer optimization (HCLP) is proposed for group communication in MANET. HCLP constructs a hybrid two-layered overlay structure, combines both gossip-based and tree-based schemes for data dissemination, and adjusts its overlay topology using cross-layer information. Simulation results demonstrate HCLP´s high reliability and low bandwidth consumption.