Equilibrating ad hoc networks

Routing protocols for wireless ad hoc networks typically find a single path with the minimum hop-count. We investigate some benefits of using multi-path routing schemes instead of the typical single-path scheme. For traffic assignment we apply the network equilibrium. By distributing traffic to several routes according to network equilibrium we achieve longer network lifetime and maintain better connectivity. On the other hand, this kind of multi-path routing, carried out here by the use of load balancing cost functions, is a form of congestion control producing better throughput. We study the effects of a theoretical traffic equilibrating scheme as well as a form of possible real-life equilibrating scheme. We evaluate the performance of the equilibrating routing schemes in terms of latency, throughput and network lifetime.