Virtual Local Area Network Performance Improvement Using Ad Hoc Routing Protocols in a Wireless Network

Abstract

Wireless Communication has become one of the most popular types of communication networks because of the many services it provides; however, it has experienced several challenges in improving network performance. VLAN (Virtual Local Area Network) is a different approach which enables a network administrator to create a logical network from a physical network. By dividing a large network into smaller networks, VLAN technology improves network efficiency, management, and security. This study includes VLAN for wireless networks with mobile nodes integration. The network protection was improved by separating the connections and grouping them in a way that prevents any party from being able to contact unauthorized stations in another party using VLAN. VLAN demonstrated restricted access to private server data by managing traffic, improving security, and reducing levels of congestion. This paper investigates the virtual local area network in a wireless network with three ad hoc routing protocols in a number of different scenarios, using the Riverbed Modeler simulation, which was used as a simulation program in this study. It was found from the investigation process that adopting VLAN technology could reduce delay and data of the network and considerably lower throughput, which is a major drawback of VLAN. Ad hoc routing algorithms, including AODV (Ad Hoc On-Demand Distance Vector), DSR (Dynamic Source Routing), and OLSR (Optimized Link State Routing) routing protocols, were used to improve the delay and throughput of the network. Routing methods with VLAN were tested across the WLAN to obtain the best throughput gain performance. The findings also revealed that these ad hoc routing protocols improved the Wireless Sensor Network performance as an additional investigation for the improvement of any network’s delay and throughput.