An efficient multicast routing protocol to minimize multipoint relays in MANET.

Abstract

Reducing control packets, especially in proactive routing protocols, needed to establish

routes can lower network overhead in Mobile Ad-hoc Networks (MANETs).

Optimized Link State Routing (OLSR) is a proactive routing protocol renowned

for its widespread culmination in MANET. In OLSR, each Multi-point Relay

(MPR) node propagates Topology Control (TC) messages across the network to

advertise neighbor information. The number of MPR nodes and hence TC messages

are significant contributors to increased network overhead; however, OLSR

counteracts or controls the TC messages by reducing the number of MPR nodes.

In this study, we propose an efficient MPR node selection mechanism to reduce

the TC message volume leading to a minimized routing overhead. Each node

selects the lowest cost node from its first hop neighbors as the MPR node for any

destination. The same MPR node can be selected for multiple destinations if it

costs the lowest for each destination node. The selection technique is realized by

modifying only the default OLSR TC and Hello messages. The proof-of-concept

implementation in the NS3 simulator reveals that the proposed methodology reduces

the routing overhead by selecting around 55%, 28% and 49% (on average)

fewer MPR nodes compared to the traditional OLSR, SSTB and M-OLSR protocol

respectively, without negotiating packet delivery ratio, throughput and delay