Scalable integrated routing using prefix labels and distributed hash tables for MANETs

We present AIR (automatic incremental routing), a unified approach for scalable unicast and multicast routing in mobile ad hoc networks (MANET). In AIR, nodes run a distributed routing algorithm to assign prefix labels to themselves. The labels are assigned such that routing to unicast or multicast destinations is automatic, in that a route from any node to a destination is defined by the node´s prefix labels, and incremental, in that no relay node needs to know an entire path to any destination. We verify that AIR provides correct unicast and multicast routing, and present simulation results comparing AIR with AODV, OLSR, MAODV and ODMRP in MANETs. The results from these simulation experiments, as well as from tests carried out in a small testbed running AIR in wireless routers, illustrate that AIR offers substantial performance advantages over traditional unicast and multicast routing protocols, even in the case of small networks.