Simulation and analysis performance of ad-hoc routing protocols under DDoS attack and proposed solution

Abstract

Ad hoc networks, known as infrastructure-less networks, are composed of mobile nodes that connect without a centralized system controlling them. These networks have a wide range of potential applications, including emergency response, events, military operations, wireless access, and intelligent transportation. They can take on various forms, such as wireless sensor networks, wireless mesh networks, and mobile ad hoc networks. Because users in these networks can move around at any time, routing protocols must adapt to the constantly changing network layout. However, these networks are also susceptible to various security threats, including DDoS attacks. This paper aims to analyze the performance and impact of security attacks on the performance of reactive and proactive routing protocols in CBR connection patterns with different pause times. The analysis is provided in metrics such as throughput, packet loss, end-to-end delay, and load. The simulation results show that, on average, the OPNET Modeler simulator analyzed the performance results under DDoS attacks under voice and video traffic conditions. Furthermore, the paper explores the use of Honeypot intelligent agents as a solution to increase security by creating a dummy node to fool DDoS attackers. The results show that the OLSR protocol is most affected by DDoS attacks in terms of quality-of-service metrics such as packet loss, throughput, end-to-end delay, and load. The number of responses to the honeypot solutions differs for each protocol.