Robust On-Demand Multipath Routing with Dynamic Path Upgrade for Delay-Sensitive Data over Ad Hoc Networks

Node mobility in mobile ad hoc networks (MANETs) causes frequent route breakages and intermittent link stability. In this paper, we introduce a robust routing scheme, known as ad hoc on-demand multipath distance vector with dynamic path update (AOMDV-DPU), for delay-sensitive data transmission over MANET. The proposed scheme improves the AOMDV scheme by incorporating the following features: (i) a routing metric based on the combination of minimum hops and received signal strength indicator (RSSI) for discovery of reliable routes; (ii) a local path update mechanism which strengthens the route, reduces the route breakage frequency, and increases the route longevity; (iii) a keep alive mechanism for secondary route maintenance which enables smooth switching between routes and reduces the route discovery frequency; (iv) a packet salvaging scheme to improve packet delivery in the event of a route breakage; and (v) low HELLO packet overhead. The simulations are carried out in ns-2 for varying node speeds, number of sources, and traffic load conditions. Our AOMDV-DPU scheme achieves significantly higher throughput, lower delay, routing overhead, and route discovery frequency and latency compared to AOMDV. For H.264 compressed video traffic, AOMDV-DPU scheme achieves 3 dB or higher PSNR gain over AOMDV at both low and high node speeds