An efficient message flooding scheme in delay-tolerant networks

In intermittently connected ad hoc networks, a reliable path between communication endpoints may not exist because mobile nodes randomly move during their operation. Furthermore, routing protocols have to work efficiently under constraints of limited bandwidth and energy. These challenge researchers to develop a suitable protocol for the networks. In this paper, we present a new routing protocol, which limits the number of message replications. In addition, a node should spread messages with lower probability if the messages are currently distributed in its local neighborhood. This increases an opportunity for a node to spread messages to other network areas. Simulation results show that our work can increase delivery ratio while maintaining low end-to-end delay and message exchange overhead.