Performance Evaluation of AODV , DSR and OLSR Mobile Ad

A mobile ad hoc network (MANET) is a wireless network that uses multi-hop peer-to-peer routing instead of static network infrastructure to provide network connectivity. The network topology in a MANET usually changes with time. Therefore, there are new challenges for routing protocols in MANETs since traditional routing protocols may not be suitable for MANETs. In ad-hoc networks, nodes are not familiar with the topology of their network; instead, they have to discover it. Table-driven (Pro-active) routing protocols like OLSR, maintains fresh lists of destinations and their routes by periodically distributing routing tables throughout the network. On Demand (Reactive) routing protocols like AODV and DSR find a route on demand by flooding the network with route request packets. The metrics like data drop, delay, load and throughput are used for the comparative analysis of the MANET performance using OPNET simulator tool for t h e A O D V , DSR and OLSR protocols operating in different scenarios, with multiple network sizes and multiple average mobility. The results show that OLSR has the best results in terms of delay; load whereas AODV has the best throughput. AODV and OLSR perform well with large network sizes and high mobility, whereas DSR protocol performs at an acceptable level with lower mobility and smaller network sizes.