Performance Analysis of AntNet-LA Protocol for Ad-hoc Networks based on Disaster Area Mobility Model

Abstract

Availability of cheap positioning instruments like GPS receivers makes it possible for routing algorithms to use the position of nodes in an ad hoc mobile network. Regular position based routing algorithms fail to find a route from a source to a destination in some cases when the network contains nodes with irregular transmission ranges or they find a route that is much longer than the shortest path. On the other hand routing algorithms based on Ant Colony Optimization (ACO) find routing paths that are close to the shortest paths even if the nodes in the network have different transmission ranges. The drawback of these algorithms is the large number of messages that needs to be sent or the long delay before the routes are established. In this paper, we propose a novel protocol AntNet-LA which combines the idea of ACO with information about position of all nodes. In this technique the distance between the nodes is considered to transmit the packets, hence overcomes the drawbacks of AntNet algorithm which considers only cumulative probability for packet transmission. We compare performance of AntNet-LA with AntNet, Ad-hoc On Demand Distance Vector (AODV), Ad-hoc On Demand Multipath Distance Vector (AOMDV), Dynamic Source Routing (DSR) and Destination-Sequenced Distance-Vector Routing (DSDV) protocols. We also compare performance of AntNet-LA with distance-aware protocols such as Location Aided Routing (LAR), Geographical AODV GeoAODV and Position Based ANT colony optimization (PBANT).