Robust Routing in Dynamic MANETs

The military environment presents special challenges for wireless mesh networking. In addition to optimal use of scarce radio resources, dependable network operation is critical: given frequent link and topology changes, rapid recovery of connectivity may be vital for mission success. This paper proposes a routing algorithm for wireless mesh networks with the primary goal of maximizing connectivity while limiting overhead. Rather than using one or more disjoint routes between a source and destination, a set of non-disjoint routes, or braid, is selected. To adapt to link changes, local rerouting is performed within the braid, thus avoiding network-wide recalculations. We analytically characterize the source-destination connectivity of the braid. Through simulation, we compare the reliability of braided routing and various other MANET routing protocols, including AODV, and quantify the relative amounts of control overhead incurred by braided routing and AODV.