Dynamic Source Routing Using Directional Antenna

A directional antenna can provide a more stable path by increasing the coverage range and reducing the no of hops. It can also solves many problems like channel interference and spatial reuse. In Mobile Adhoc Networks (MANETs), the research about directional antennas has been restricted mostly to medium access control. To determine the efficacy of the MANET routing protocols with directional antennas, it is necessary to assess the impact of directional antennas on the performance of routing protocols. In this paper, an attempt has been made to cross couple the MAC and routing layer in order to enable the DSR protocol with directional antenna. To check the scope of this approach it has been compared with the traditional DSR with omni-directional antenna. Simulation results have been generated with NS-2 version 2.29. Simulation results of the paper shows that it can deliver more number of packets with less hop count and less end to end delay as compare to traditional approach of DSR. This approach also faces less energy loss as compare to DSR with omni-directional antenna support.