A Scalable Routing Method for Irregular Mobile Ad Hoc Networks

We designed the terminode routing protocol with the objective to scale in large mobile ad hoc networks where the topology, or node distribution, is irregular. Our routing protocol is a combination of two protocols: Terminode Local Routing (TLR to reach a close destination) and Terminode Remote Routing (TRR to send data to remote destinations). TRR is the key element to achieve scalability and reduce dependence on intermediate systems. Terminode routing uses anchored paths, a list of geographic points that are not affected by nodes mobility -, rather than conventional paths of nodes. Terminode routing is completed by a low-overhead distributed method for discovering of anchored paths, and by a method for handling the inaccuracy of the location information. The presented simulation results confirm that terminode routing performs well in different sized networks. In smaller ad hoc networks performance of terminode routing is comparable to MANET routing protocols. In larger networks, where MANETlike routing protocols break, terminode routing performs well; moreover, in larger networks that are not uniformly populated with nodes, terminode routing outperforms the existing location-based routing protocols.