A joint custody-based forwarding policy for delay-tolerant networks

In this paper, we propose a custody-based approach to improve network performance in DTNs. Therefore, we introduce a mechanism that comprises a joint-custody scheme, named Limited Joint Custody (LJC) and a forwarding policy, named Forward Custody First (FCF). LJC uses a limited replication mechanism to control the number of custodians per bundle in the network and FCF prioritizes bundles in custody. We evaluate, through simulations, the performance of our proposed mechanisms under two different trace-based scenarios. We also compare LJC and FCF with existing solutions in the literature. Main results show a significant improvement in delivery delay and rate in both scenarios, with no additional overhead. FCF-LJC presents a delivery rate of 98% at the same time that decreases by 24% the delivery delay.