Behavioral Study of MANET Routing Protocols

Ad hoc wireless networks are characterized by multihop wireless connectivity, infrastructureless environment and frequently changing topology. As the wireless links are highly error prone and can go down frequently due to mobility of nodes, therefore, stable routing is a very critical task due to highly dynamic environment in adhoc wireless networks. In this paper, behavioral study of different MANET routing protocols viz. Optimized Link State Routing (OLSR), Destination Sequenced Distance vector (DSDV), Dynamic Source Routing (DSR), Adhoc On-demand Distance Vector (AODV) and Temporary Ordered Routing Protocol (TORA) protocols, have been carried out so as to identify which protocol is most suitable for efficient routing over Mobile Adhoc NETwork (MANET). The identification of stable and efficient routing protocol plays a very critical role in places where wired network are neither available nor economical to deploy. This paper provides an overview of these routing protocols by presenting their overview and then makes their comparative analysis so to analyze their performance. The study will be helpful in identifying which protocol is best suitable for MANET and how the performance of that protocol can be further improved. In future MANET's, denser mediums will be used with increasing number of applications, therefore, the study will be of great interest to researchers in getting an idea about which protocol to consider under sparse/denser medium environments for efficient and stable routing.