Performance of ad hoc routing using directional antennas

This paper evaluates the tradeoffs involved in using directional antennas in ad hoc routing. Although problems with utilizing directional antennas have been visited in the past, the research has been confined mostly to medium access control. To determine whether directional antennas are beneficial to ad hoc networks, it is necessary to evaluate the impact of directional antennas on the performance of routing protocols as well. In this paper, we evaluate the performance of DSR (Dynamic Source Routing) using directional antennas. We identify several issues that emerge from executing DSR (originally designed for omnidirectional antennas) over directional antennas. Using insights gained from simulations, we propose routing strategies that adapt the routing protocol to directional communication. Our analysis shows that by using directional antennas, ad hoc networks may achieve better performance. However, scenarios exist in which using omnidirectional antennas may be more appropriate.