OpenFlow based hybrid routing in Wireless Sensor Networks

Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) have been widely deployed in many fields and commonly adopted in many applications. There are several routing protocols for WSNs, such as Ad hoc On-Demand Distance Vector Routing (AODV) and Sensor Protocols for Information via Negotiation (SPIN). However, one major problem of these routing protocols is that they cannot provide a global view for network topologies, as they run in a distributed way. Moreover, for a distributed routing algorithm, troubleshooting always takes lots of time because the administrators must collect the routing information from individual routing nodes. OpenFlow is an emerging technology which makes network elements (such as routers or switches) programmable via a standardized interface. With OpenFlow, novel routing algorithms can be quickly deployed. In this paper, we proposed a new routing approach that integrates OpenFlow with link-state routing in WSNs. The approach allows administrators to maintain a global view on each routing path, as well as simplifies the procedure of network provisioning and troubleshooting.