Improved AntHocNet with Bidirectional Path Setup and Loop Avoidance

Abstract

Routing in mobile ad hoc networks (MANETs) is highly challenging because of the dynamic nature of network topology. AntHocNet is a bio-inspired routing protocol for MANETs that mimics the foraging behavior of ants. However, unlike many other MANET routing protocols, the paths constructed in AntHocNet are unidirectional, which requires a separate path setup if a route in the reverse direction is also required. Because most communication sessions are bidirectional, this unidirectional path setup approach is often inefficient.Moreover, AntHocNet suffers from looping problems because of its property of multiple paths and stochastic data routing. In this paper, we propose a modified path setup procedure that constructs bidirectional paths. We also propose solutions to some of the looping problems in AntHocNet. Simulation results show that performance is significantly enhanced in terms of overhead, end-to-end delay, and delivery ratio when loops are prevented.Performance is further improved, in terms of overhead, when bidirectional paths setup is employed.

Adaptive Mechanism for Discovering Internet Gateways in Wireless Networks Using Swarm Intelligence

“…AntHocNet is suggested for large-scale, high data rate networks as it is a hybrid protocol and Multi-path Multi-GW and allows faster network discovery. But it is suffering from lopping in some scenarios [28] and it is a large consumer of energy [29].…”