An enhanced zone-based routing protocol for mobile ad-hoc networks based on route reliability

In mobile ad-hoc networks (MANET), the nodes intercommunicate through single-hop and multi-hop paths in a peer-to-peer fashion. Intermediate nodes between two pairs of communication nodes act as routers. Thus the nodes operate both as hosts and routers. The nodes are mobile, so the topology of the network may change rapidly and unexpectedly. One of well-known routing protocol for ad-hoc networks is zone routing protocol (ZRP). However when the protocol searches for a new route, it sends many useless control packets, which increase the network load and decrease the network performance. In this paper, we propose an enhanced zone routing protocol (EZRP). In EZRP, each node calculates the reliability of the route. In the case of reliable route, the source node sends the data packet directly to the destination node using that route without route searching. While, in the case of unreliable route, the source node searches for a new route again. We show that the network performance can be improved by using EZRP.

1. Introduction

In recent years, by the development of communication technology, networks have became high speed and low cost. Furthermore, the number of computers connected to networks has been increased. This is because a user can be connected not only to the fixed terminals but also to mobile terminals.