Performance Comparison of the Aodv and Dsdv Routing Protocols in Mobile Ad Hoc Networks

Ad hoc networks are characterized by a lack of infrastructure, and by a random and quickly changing network topology; thus the need for a robust dynamic routing protocol that can accommodate such an environment. Consequently, many routing algorithms have come into existence to satisfy the needs of communications in such networks. This paper presents a performance comparison between two routing algorithms, AODV, from the reactive family and DSDV, from the proactive family. Both protocols were simulated using the ns-2 package and were compared in terms of average throughput, packet loss ratio, and routing overhead, while varying number of nodes, speed and pause time. Simulation revealed that although DSDV perfectly scales to small networks with low node speeds, AODV is preferred due to its more efficient use of bandwidth.