Multi-phase socially-aware routing in distributed mobile social networks

Opportunistic networking is perhaps the only available option for the deployment of distributed mobile social networks, in which no form of infrastructure is present. There have been numerous approaches attempting to devise new socially-aware metrics, in order to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of the opportunistic routing algorithms. However, the routing procedure itself is usually not considered. This paper proposes a novel routing method which takes into account the phases of the opportunistic routing procedure. These are detected by checking the availability of information concerning the whereabouts of the destination. Thus, by identifying in which phase a message is in, the algorithm is able to choose the appropriate metric that should be utilized. Using similar metrics as existing routing schemes, this routing protocol is able to provide much higher delivery rates, minimizing the delay. The protocol has been implemented using a base system combining ad-hoc and opportunistic functionality, deployed in the OMNET++ simulation environment. The results presented, clearly demonstrate the benefits of using multi-phase opportunistic routing, when the mobility of the underlying network is driven by social relationships.