Coupling degree seeking based routing strategy for delay tolerant networks

In this paper we consider the problem of routing in delay tolerant networks (DTNs). DTNs attempt to route network messages via intermittently connected nodes. Routing in such environments is difficult because there is no guarantee that a fully connected path between source and destination exists at any time and transfer opportunities between nodes are of limited duration. We propose a protocol for effective routing of DTN messages, Max-Coupling, which is based on the coupling degree of connected nodes and can be implemented in a distributed way. Specifically, Max-Coupling employs a new movement model, in which nodes usually move around a set of well-visited landmark points instead of moving randomly. We compare it to the earlier presented Epidemic Routing protocol, PROPHET and Spray and wait protocol through simulations. The results of the simulations show that this protocol improves the delivery ratio, reduces the delivery latency and message buffer time compared to traditional DTN routing schemes.