Ant Colony Based Node Disjoint Hybrid Multi-path Routing for Mobile Ad Hoc Network

Abstract

Mobile Ad hoc Networks are characterized by multi-hop wireless links, without any infrastructure and frequent node mobility. A class of ant colony based routing protocols has recently gained attention because of their adaptability to the network changes. AntHocNet is ant colony based hybrid algorithm, which combines reactive path setup with proactive path probing, maintenance and improvement. Multi-path routing represents a promising routing method for mobile ad hoc network. Multi-path routing achieves load balancing and is more resilient to route failures. This research introduces node disjoint multi-path property to AntHocNet routing algorithm. A virtual class room is one that can be established by using mobile devices and whose members can be dynamically added or removed. The implementation of virtual class room for lesson handling and query discussion using mobile ad hoc network is analyzed. The data are spread among the N (here N = 3) node disjoint routes from the beginning of the data transmission session. The performance metrics, average end-to-end delay, packet delivery ratio and load balancing have been analyzed for various pause times. The average end-to-end delay and packet delivery ratio have not varied significantly. Optimal load distribution is achieved by spreading the load among different node disjoint routes.