Factors affecting the performance of dynamic source routing protocol in mobile ad hoc networks using Taguchi approach

Abstract

The performance of dynamic source routing (DSR) protocol in mobile ad hoc networks is influenced very much by several factors that define the network environment and scenario. The factors include terrain, network size, node velocity, pause time, transmission range, traffic load, and packet rates. The purpose of this research is to analyze the effects of these factors and some interactions on two performance metrics, namely routing overhead and drop rates. Taguchi approach has been applied in this study. For a preliminary experiment, L4 orthogonal array was used to determine the effects of terrain, pause time, and node velocity on the performance of DSR. Among these factors, we found that the most influential factor on drop rates was terrain, followed by pause time and node velocity. For routing overhead, we discovered that node velocity was the most effective factor, followed by pause time and terrain. Furthermore, L8 orthogonal array was applied to analyze the effect of all the factors above. The most important results were that the effects of transmission range, terrain, network size, packet rates, and pause time were significant on drop rates. For routing overhead, we discovered that the effects of network size, pause time, node velocity, and traffic load were significant. Finally, using suitable orthogonal arrays, the investigation was carried out to identify the effect of interactions between the significant factors. The effect of interaction between terrain and pause time on drop rates was found to be present and significant.