Abstract
In this work, we compare a recently proposed routing protocol, the multi-parent hierarchical (MPH) protocol, with two well-known protocols, the ad hoc on-demand distance vector (AODV) and dynamic source routing (DSR). For this purpose, we have developed a simulator, which faithfully reifies the workings of a given protocol, considering a fixed, reconfigurable ad hoc network given by the number and location of participants, and general network conditions. We consider a scenario that can be found in a large number of wireless sensor network applications, a single sink node that collects all of the information generated by the sensors. The metrics used to compare the protocols were the number of packet retransmissions, carrier sense multiple access (CSMA) inner loop retries, the number of nodes answering the queries from the coordinator (sink) node and the energy consumption. We tested the network under ordinary (without attacks) conditions (and combinations thereof) and when it is subject to different types of jamming attacks (in particular, random and reactive jamming attacks), considering several positions for the jammer. Our results report that MPH has a greater ability to tolerate such attacks than DSR and AODV, since it minimizes and encapsulates the network segment under attack. The self-configuring capabilities of MPH derived from a combination of a proactive routes update, on a periodic-time basis, and a reactive behavior provide higher resilience while offering a better performance (overhead and energy consumption) than AODV and DSR, as shown in our simulation results.
Highlights
Wireless sensor networks (WSNs), sometimes covering wide geographical areas, are being deployed for a large number of applications, as they have become one of the most suitable technologies for supporting services, such as air quality monitoring, vehicular traffic monitoring, street lighting optimization, smart parking, among others [1]
Throughout our research, we have found both that multi-parent hierarchical (MPH) is more resilient to jamming attacks, as well as to adverse conditions of the wireless environment in that it offers a better network performance than dynamic source routing (DSR) and ad hoc on-demand distance vector (AODV)
Regarding the case when the jammer node is close to the coordinator and considering conditions of random jamming with ρ = 50 packets/s, MPH has 18.4% lower average carrier sense multiple access (CSMA) retries compared to DSR
Summary
Wireless sensor networks (WSNs), sometimes covering wide geographical areas, are being deployed for a large number of applications, as they have become one of the most suitable technologies for supporting services, such as air quality monitoring, vehicular traffic monitoring, street lighting optimization, smart parking, among others [1] In these scenarios, WSNs are exposed to time variant conditions, such as changes in the propagation of radio signals, temperature, humidity, wind, interferences and deterioration of the physical components. Some of the parameters studied to identify the jamming nature are: resource limitations, wireless communication medium, the mobility of nodes and absence of infrastructure [3] Another performance metric is the amount of changes in the radio links (new or dropped links) implying node connections or disconnections and, a constant change on WSN topology (this metric is related to network connectivity). The whole scenario, because sometimes, node failures or poor connectivity can have similar effects as a jamming attack [4]
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