Performance evaluation of routing protocols for sending healthcare data over WiMAX network

In this paper, performance of different varieties of routing protocols is evaluated for Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) [1] as part of feasibility study for its use in wireless telemedicine applications. Emergency telemedicine scenario of moving ambulance and mobile pedestrian, transmitting physiological patient data sending to hospital have been considered in present study. Due to mobility of entities involved, network topology changes frequently and routing becomes a challenging task. A variety of routing protocols with varying network conditions are analyzed to find an optimized protocol for sending critical healthcare data. This paper presents performance comparison of four popular WiMAX routing protocols i.e. Ad hoc On-Demand Distance Vector Routing (AODV), Location Aided Routing scheme1 (LAR1), Optimized Link State Routing Protocol (OLSR) and Zone Routing Protocol (ZRP) in variable number of nodes as well as variable pause time conditions. The performance analysis is based on different network metrics such as average jitter, packet delivery ratio, average end-to-end delay and throughput.