Performance Comparison of AODV and DSR Routing Protocols in MANETs

Abstract

An ad hoc network is a collection of wireless mobile nodes dynamically forming a temporary network without the use of any existing network infrastructure or centralized administration. A number of routing protocols like Dynamic Source Routing (DSR), Ad Hoc On-Demand Distance Vector Routing (AODV) and Destination-Sequenced Distance-Vector (DSDV) have been proposed. In this work an attempt has been made to compare the performance of two prominent ondemand reactive routing protocols for mobile ad hoc networks: DSR and AODV. A simulation model with MAC and physical layer models is used to study interlayer interactions and their performance implications. Although DSR and AODV share similar on-demand behavior, the differences in the protocol mechanics can lead to significant performance differentials. The performance differentials are analyzed using varying network load, mobility, and network size. These simulations are carried out using the ns-2 network simulator, which is used to run ad hoc simulations. The results presented in this thesis illustrate the importance in carefully evaluating and implementing routing protocols when evaluating an ad hoc network protocol.