Alternative Packet Forwarding for Otherwise Discarded Packets

Packets in multihop wireless networks are often discarded due to missing routes, packet collision, unreachable next-hop or bit error. As a remedy to these problems, this paper presents alternative packet- forwarding mechanisms that will reduce the likelihood of discarding packets. In addition to this, a new packet-buffering solution is proposed. By combining these two methods, reduced packet loss was achieved in addition to preserved network resources. This was confirmed through simulations, where a comparison between our proposed solutions and standard forwarding showed up to 50% reduction in packet loss.