A Study on Dynamic Source Routing Protocol for Wireless Ad Hoc Networks

Abstract: An ad hoc network is a collection of wireless mobile hosts forming a temporary network without requirement of any existing infrastructure. In such an environment, to forward a packet from host to destination require a mobile host. This paper presents a protocol for routing in Mobile ad–hoc networks .Dynamic Source Routing which is a reactive routing protocol adapts quickly to routing changes when host movement is frequent, yet requires little or no overhead during periods in which hosts move less frequently. The DSR is a simple and efficient routing protocol designed specifically for use in multi-hop wireless ad hoc networks of mobile nodes. DSR allows the network without the need for any existing network infrastructure or administration. The protocol is composed of the two mechanisms of Route Discovery and Route Maintenance, which work together to allow nodes to discover and maintain source routes to arbitrary destinations in the ad hoc network. Source routing allows packet routing to be trivially loop-free, avoids the need for up-to-date routing information in the intermediate nodes through which packets are forwarded, and allows nodes forwarding or overhearing packets to cache the routing information in them for their own future use. DSR is entirely on-demand.

Keywords: MAC, MANET, DSR, AODV