A survey on reputation-based cooperation enforcement schemes in wireless ad hoc networks

Mobile ad hoc networks rely on node cooperation to perform and support basic functions like packet forwarding, routing and network management. In general, nodes´ misbehaviour can significantly degrade the performance of the network. Cooperation enforcement schemes are seen as a lightweight alternative to conventional security techniques, providing a “softer” security layer to protect basic networking operations. The aim of this paper is to survey representative cooperation enforcement schemes exploiting a reputation system proposed in related research literature. Their distinct features are analyzed and their relative merits and weaknesses are discussed.