RE-AODV: An enhanced routing algorithm for QoS support in wireless ad-hoc sensor networks

Low control overhead and power cost are two key issues in wireless sensor networks to improve protocol efficiency. They decide the quality of service provided by the protocol. Ad-hoc On Demand Distance Vector protocol (AODV) is a preferred routing protocol in wireless sensor networks. The routing overhead of AODV is a drawback in power-constrained environment. This paper presents an enhanced routing algorithm RE-AODV with a local route enhancement model for AODV which reduces the routing overhead and improves the efficiency. The Hello packet broadcast mechanism of the standard AODV is enhanced to save time-and-again discarding and rediscovering the routes. The theoretical substantiation and the performance evaluation using the TOSSIM simulator are presented. The results show that the new algorithm is efficient with reduced control overhead and end-to-end delay.