Analysis and simulation of three MANET routing protocols: A research on AODV, DSR & DSDV characteristics and their performance evaluation

Abstract

Mobile ad-hoc network allows electronic devices to independently configure the communication; even if the device changes its position, the (MANET) can maintain the connectivity among the devices since it has the capability to arrange a temporary network dynamically. The lack of central infrastructure and the freedom of mobile nodes to move randomly will create several problems, like routing and security issues. MANET requires a stable routing algorithm to adapt to the network that changes its topology randomly at any time. Several studies were conducted with different scenarios to suggest the best protocol for routing. However, a clear performance evaluation is still a missing part, because the dissimilarities in the mechanism of the protocol can lead to important performance differences. This article provides a performance assessment of (DSR), (DSDV), and (AODV) protocols. Research results and the evaluation of the network are made based on network size, mobility, and variable network load by using NS2 application for simulation. The results reveal that the (AODV, DSR) are more efficient than DSDV and reasonably more proper for ad-hoc applications and projects.