Link State Routing Protocol with Cluster Based Flooding for Mobile Ad-hoc Computer Networks

Ability of a routing algorithm to converge quickly when network topology changes frequently is a critical requirement for routing in multi-hop wireless networks. Due to its exceptional convergence performance, Link State routing technology is the state of the art in wired network routing. There is, however, a concern that Link State routing will generate too much overhead traffic in bandwidth-depleted wireless networks. This paper presents a protocol for Link State routing in a mobile wireless ad-hoc network. The protocol is designed to operate in small to medium size ad-hoc wireless networks, with each node being a router at the same time. While most routing algorithms for ad-hoc networks use minimum hop count as their routing metric, our protocol uses link costs that are proportional to the power that the node needs to generate to reach the next hop. Although this approach produces routes with more hops, it allows to minimize the congestion on the link layer (OSI reference architecture), preserves battery power, and creates routes that are less likely to be broken due to node mobility. In order to ensure efficient and reliable flooding of Link State Updates, the cluster based algorithm is used. Once global up-to-date information is delivered to every router, Shortest Path First algorithm ensures that the optimal route is selected.