Status packet deprecation and store-forward routing in AUSNet

AUSNet is a functional network of autonomous undersea vehicles. We present two novel algorithms to enhance AUSNet. In live in-water testing, a packet queueing problem in which stale status packets accummulated while AUVs were out of transmission range, was discovered. A replace-and-hold algorithm was designed to replace stale status packets. A store-and-forward feature using data shuttles between disjoint network partitions, is also proposed. Both algorithms were evaluated in a time-driven simulator. The replace-and-hold method showed bandwidth usage improvements of 48% for a typical AUV scenario and improved performance even when nodes remained connected. Multiple store-and-forward models were compared and showed varying levels of improvement.