GCRP: geographic virtual circuit routing protocol for ad hoc networks

Abstract

Geographic routing exploits localized information concerning explicit node locations to make forwarding decisions. This approach adapts well to the dynamic nature of ad hoc networks. However it is subject to increased overhead during the local minimum recovery process. In this paper we specify GCRP a routing protocol based on the novel geocircuit paradigm, that exploits already discovered paths to avoid repeated recoveries from the same local minimums. The proposed protocol is established to exhibit loop-freedom, while robustly eliminating mobility-induced loops. Performance analysis demonstrates significant advantage of GCRP relative to conventional geogram routing, over a wide range of network environment conditions. Gains increase as limiting network parameters are increased, namely node mobility, traffic load, network size and density. Effective repair of broken geocircuits preserves scalability in highly mobile environments.