A routing algorithm based on Cross-layer Power Control in wireless ad hoc networks

Applying power control into routing protocols in wireless ad hoc networks has become a hot research issue, because rational use of power control in routing protocols can not only reduce network energy consumption but also improve network throughput, packet delivery ratio and other performance of ad hoc networks. In this paper, we propose an on-demand routing algorithm based on cross-layer power control termed as CPC-AODV (Cross-layer Power Control Ad hoc On-demand Distance Vector). This algorithm builds different routing entries according to the node power levels on demand, and selects the minimum power level routing for data delivery. In addition, CPC-AODV uses different power control policies to transmit data packets, as well as control packets of network layer and MAC layer. Simulation results show that our algorithm can not only reduce the average communication energy consumption, thus prolong the network lifetime, but also improve average end-to-end delay and packet delivery ratio.