OLSR-R3: Optimised link state routing with reactive route recovery

The optimised link state routing (OLSR) is a proactive routing protocol which relies on periodical broadcast of routing packets. However, due to the one-to-many relationship of broadcast traffic, the delivery of these packets can not be guaranteed by underlying MAC protocol, particularly in a congested condition. In this paper, the possible routing pathologies and failures of OLSR in a congested network are explored. In addition, a hybrid routing protocol which integrates OLSR with Reactive Route Recovery (OLSR-R³) is proposed to rectify the erratic routing behaviour described in this paper. Simulation studies are presented which show that the proposed solution is effective in addressing the underlining problems.