Efficient and Scalable Information Dissemination in Mobile Ad hoc Networks

Efficient and scalable information dissemination is important in network management, packet routing and auto configuration. Given the very nature of a mobile ad hoc network, this information dissemination provides a challenging problem. This paper introduces a new packet flooding mechanism for information dissemination in mobile ad hoc networks. Neighbor Aware Adapative Power (NAAP) flooding, attempts to reduce redundant broadcasts and power consumption during flooding with the aim of minimizing medium contention among neighboring nodes thereby allowing for increased channel utilization. We show that compared to blind flooding and a multipoint relay mechanism, NAAP in a non-mobile environment with increasing node density shows increased performance in the reduction of power consumption and received duplicate packets. At 300 nodes: NAAP consumes 84% less power than blind flooding and 29% less power than multipoint relaying; nodes using NAAP receive 89% less duplicate packets than blind flooding and 43% less duplicate packets than multipoint relaying.