Dynamic probabilistic broadcasting in mobile ad hoc networks

In mobile ad hoc networks (MANET), broadcasting is extensively used in route discovery, address resolution, and many other network services. The efficiency of broadcasting protocol can dramatically affect the performance of the entire network. Proper use of probabilistic method can reduce the number of rebroadcasting, therefore reduce the chance of contention and collision among neighboring nodes. A good probabilistic broadcast protocol can achieve high throughput and low energy consumption without suffering significant reachability degradation. In this paper, we propose a dynamic probabilistic approach and compare it with simple flooding and fixed probabilistic scheme. Our approach dynamically adjusts the rebroadcasting probability according to the node distribution and movement in the ad hoc network. The adaptation is based on locally available information without the assistance of location or distance measuring devices. Simulation results show our approach perform better than both simple flooding and fixed probabilistic schemes.