2013 International Conference of Information and Communication Technology (lCoICl)

A Novel Improved Neighbor Discovery

Method for an Intelligent-AODV in Mobile
Ad hoc Networks
i 2 3
Ehsan Mostajeran , Rafidah Md Noor and Hassan Keshavarz
Faculty of Computer Science, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
ehsan mostajeran@siswa.um.edu.my, fidah@um.edu.my, keshavarz hassan@ieee.org
_ _

Abstract: Mobile Ad hoc Networks (MANETs) have opened a new of computing devices with different wireless build-in
window for fresh ideas and thoughts to be converted to reality and to interfaces such as Wi-Fi [4] and WiMAX [5] can quickly form
assist in making better use of mobile communication implemented
a wireless Ad hoc network and start communicating to each
with mobility models. For instance, Vehicular Ad hoc Networks
other directly. In addition to this network, a routing protocol is
(VANETs), a subset of MANETs, is used in vehicular connectivity
involved which carries on the destination discovery process
such as Car-to-Car and Car-to-Internet and Infrastructure. Ad hoc
among nodes.
On-Demand Distance Vector (AODV) is one of the ad hoc routing
protocols utilized in MANET and VANET. Ad hoc routing protocols
In AODV, route discovery begins by flooding a RREQ to
are categorized into Table-driven and On-demand. On-Demand
neighbors. Flooding is conditioned by finding destinations and
routing protocols find their destinations based on the process of
flooding a request to neighbors searching for their destinations. spreading among nodes by expanding a ring searching

Neighbors of nodes are detected based on the neighbor discovery algorithm. Once a destination is reachable by the next hop, the
method, which periodically broadcasts HELLO messages to detect corresponding node sends a RREP message to the sender of
available neighbors at time. Generating routing packets and neighbor the RREQ message. The path between these two nodes gets
discovery messages produce high overhead in the On-Demand cached in a routing table based on a Distance Vector
routing protocol, such as AODV. In order to overcome such issues, a
algorithm. Besides the route discovery procedure, neighbor
novel scheme in Ad hoc networks based on Intelligent-AODV (I -
discovery exists in AODV that helps store lists of neighbor
AODV) is proposed. This scheme functions to exploit
nodes. The neighbor discovery process periodically broadcasts
neighbor discovery and reduce the overhead of neighbor discovery
a HELLO message to find available neighbors. An
processes.
acknowledgment should be sent in response to the HELLO

Keywords: MANET, VANET, I-AODV, AODV, HELLO Message message within a specific time [6].

Although AODV is an On-demand routing protocol,

I. INTRODUCTION
routing overhead caused by flooding of RREQ, RREP, RERR,
The process of technology in the area of ICT has been
in addition to broadcasting of HELLO messages and
rapid and proves very useful in human life. A decade ago,
corresponding acknowledgement messages, comprise
wireless technology did not have as much of an impact as
considerable issues still. Several research works and
today. In today's world, divers wireless technologies such as
experiments have been carries out to improve the performance
Mobile Ad hoc Networks [I] provide solutions to several
and throughput of routing protocols. Neighbor detection
tasks in our daily lives. Vehicular Ad hoc Network (VANET)
algorithms and methods have also been central to previous
[2] for instance, is an example of a new generation Ad hoc
works on routing protocols aiming to improve performance.
technology designed for vehicular connectivity. The
advantage of using a wireless Ad hoc network [3] is that no In this paper, the performance of a proposed I-AODV was
gateway is necessary for all wireless nodes to communicate observed in different scenarios. A new neighbor discovery
with each other [1]. In some scenarios, when a centralized method was implemented in order to reduce routing overhead,
infrastructure cannot be used, an Ad hoc network can be providing enhanced routing load in each scenario. Meanwhile,
established as a backbone to run other services. Thus, a group I-AODV was integrated with a new process to recognize

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 2013 International Conference of Information and Communication Technology (lCoICl)
neighbors while the HELLO timer is not called.
implementation was accomplished via the process of sending
and receiving AODY messages such as RREQ and RREP.
The idea originated from an attribute of AODY which works
based on the next node's information [6]. Hence, I-AODY
performs better in different scenarios with 10, 20 and 50
nodes, as results indicate as well. A discussion on the results
is available later in this paper.
II. Related Work
According to a paper by [7] which studied the utility of
HELLO messages in various processes, a HELLO message is
called a Control message. Control messages are functional in
neighbor discovery, route discovery, route reply and route
error. In fact, each node receives a message in AODY, and
then must refresh the routing table. This routing table contains
master information for nodes to perform data delivery. Active
links are determined by using a HELLO message or control
message. This means that neighbors are known for their
nodes, something very helpful in the routing process for
leading where the starting point of link connectivity exists.
The only difficulty of this paper is that HELLO message and
control message overhead is not reduced.
In a work by [8], a novel routing protocol was proposed
named Multihop Hello Guided Routing-Reactive (MHGR-R).
This routing protocol is based on the original MHGR which is
a proactive routing protocol. In the proposed protocol, each
uses HELLO messages to discover neighbors. There are two
states defined in MHGR-R, namely normal state and HELLO
state. Generally, nodes that have data packet switches to the
HELLO state can begin to periodically broadcast HELLO
messages. Multihop logic uses next node information to
provide a Multihop route to the next-node of
corresponding neighbor nodes. The advantage is that a two­
hop count destination is considered to be a single Multihop
route. Although this assists in achieving a fresher and faster
route, HELLO diffusion and HELLO state in this protocol still
generate heavy routing overhead.
In another research by [9] on the neighbor discovery
method, two rules were applied. The first rule is that when a
HELLO message, RREQ and RREP is received from a node
with no entry in the routing table, the value set for link Signal
to Noise Ratio (SNR) is measured and must be higher than a
certain upper link. The second rule is when a HELLO
message, RREQ and RREP is received from a node which is a
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The neighbor in the receiver node routing table, the Signal to
Noise Ratio (SNR) value must be higher than a certain lower
limit. The first rule defines the quality of each node as either
good or bad. SNR is concerned with the movement of nodes.
So, nodes that are not moving may be mostly considered good
neighbors because of the adequate signal quality.
III. Intelligent-AODY
In this section, implementation of the proposed Intelligent­
AODY is discussed. This implementation was accomplished
by using Network Simulator 2 version 2. 34 [10]. Each
scenario was designed with a different number of nodes.
Figure I demonstrates the overall overhead caused by
HELLO messages with the assumption that all HELLO
messages are sent at single HELLO intervals. Based on the 1-
AODY theory, if the destination node of the HELLO message
is checked among neighbors on a list and is found to have
active expiry time, I-AODY does not send HELLO message
to that destination, meaning it filters the broadcasting HELLO
message. The difference in HELLO message overhead is
illustrated in Figure 2, where a HELLO message is only sent
to a destination that is not in the neighbor list. This difference
can provide less routing packets and therefore, better
normalized routing load. In fact, I-AODY can deliver data to
its destination by finding a shorter, fresher route entry with
fewer routing packets.
the
Figure I, Original AODY HELLO message overhead
Figure 2, I-AODY HELLO message overhead
Neighbors are recognized and added to the neighbor list
after sending an ACK to the HELLO message sender [6]. The
neighbor node's information is used in flooding RREQ and as
a starting point for the data delivery route to destination. In 1-
AODY, RREQ and RREP headers are checked to compare
396
 2013 International Conference of Information and Communication Technology (lCoICl)

header information with the routing table. This helps identify performance than AODV. Table 1 provides some of the values
newer shorter routes to destination. Thus, I-AODV can set for 802.11 a [4] in all scenarios.
smartly find neighbors while sending and receiving RREQ
and RREP. This implementation permits the protocol to Table 1: IEEE 802.11a specifications

discover neighbor nodes quickly and utilize neighbor node Parameter Name Yalue Set
information in the route discovery process. The fact that Min Contention Window 31
Min Contention Window 1023
mobile nodes are designed with mobility is an advantage
Slot Time 20us
particularly in MANET. However, I-AODV is much better­
Short Interface Space lOus
behaved in such scenarios involving mobility. Figure 3
Preamble Length 144 bit
displays an overview of the notion that RREQ and RREP are Short Preamble Length 72 bit

used for neighbor discovery. I-AODV is able to recognize a Preamble Data Rate IMbps

new neighbor before or after HelloTimer(s). This means that Basic Rate 1Mb
PLCP Header Length 48 bits
I-AODV checks RREQ and RREP sequence numbers and hop
PLCP Data Rate 1Mbps
counts while comparing them with route entries in the routing
Short PLCP Data Rate 2Mbps
table, then checks whether the corresponding node is found in RTS Threshold 3000bytes

the neighbor list; if not, that node is considered a neighbor. Data Rate 11Mb
Adaptive Automatic Rate
false
Fallback
Neighbor Discovery Process
til �
The Random Walk Mobility model was selected for this
HELLO RREQ RERR HELLO
investigation, and it concerns parameters such minimum and
Broadcasting RREP Broadcasting
maximum speed of mobile nodes while they are moving

t t t t t around in random directions [11]. This project aimed to

provide higher chances for mobile nodes to detect neighbors
while the nodes are moving at a default speed in all scenarios.

l+n
HELLO INTERYAL HELLO INTERYAL
V. DISCUSSION AND RESULTS
Figure 3: I-AODY Additional Neighbor Discovery overview Results collected from the scenarios were analyzed,
compared and are presented in the following sections. Each
This concept derived from one of the AODV attributes element of performance is explained technically regarding 1-
which states that each RREQ and RREP is sent to the next AODV and AODV operations.
node, so the sender node knows the next hop node's
information. By using I-AODV, there is still a chance of A. Routing Load
finding neighbors using RREQ and RREP next node's Routing Load in a scenario is considered the main
information assuming there is no neighbor discovery overhead [12]. It is important to know how many packets in a
functioning in the protocol. scenario in a specific time must be generated to complete data
delivery. Routing packets are counted by generating RREQ,
IV. SIMULATION AND EVALUATION
RREP, RERR and HELLO messages. In this experiment, the
Network Simulator 2 (NS-2.34) [10] was employed to
HELLO messages were less while the neighbor discovery
simulate the scenarios for this experiment. The different
operation is more efficient in the proposed method. Figures 1
scenarios were tested with varying number of nodes. Traffic,
and 2 clearly show that the proposed method reduces routing
type of mobility, MAC and Physical Layer specifications were
overhead by conditioning the HELLO message. Moreover,
defined the same in all scenarios. In this paper, the original
faster neighbor detection leads to fresher routes in the
AODV was observed in NS-2. 34 and then compared with 1-
discovery process. Figure displays the difference between the
AODV performance metrics. According to results, I-AODV
routing load and the proposed method. The total number of
generates less routing overhead and provides more reasonable

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 2013 International Conference of Information and Communication Technology (lCoICl)

routing packets is given in Figure 5, which is used to calculate

routing load.
.AODV .I-AODV
99.7
99.6
• AODV .I-AODV 99.5
--- 99.4
0.7 .,-
99.3
-g
_

0.6 +--------------==:---- � 99.2

.9
� 0.5 +-----­ :5 99.1
0..
:;:; 99
5 0.4 +---- 98.9
<>::
't:I 0.3
98.8
Qj
.!::! 98.7
'iii 0.2 98.6
E
0 0.1
10 20 50
z Node
0
10 20 50 Figure 6, Packet Delivery Ratio
Node

C. Packet Drop
Figure 4, Normalized Routing load
Physical layer specifications make one of the mandatory
parameters that should be configured the same in all scenarios
.AODV . I-AODV
to achieve fair performance analysis. Parameters such as Data
8000
Rate with unlike values for instance, can produce a different
7000
total number of packet drops. In a fair comparison, the
� 6000 +-------­
OJ proposed neighbor discovery method can decrease the number
� 5000 +------
<II
of packet drops by inserting new neighbors for the routing
� 4000 +------
c:
''5 3000 +----- packets to use. Neighbors are checked once routing packets
o
<>:: 2000 such as RREQ and RREP are sent and received. Mobile nodes

1000 are able to check a next node's information [6] in a neighbor

o discovery process by using these routing packets. Figure 7

10 20 50 indicates a lower total number of packet drops in each
Node scenario with the proposed neighbor discovery method.

Figure 5, Total number of routing packets

• AODV .I-AODV
250 .,------
B. Packet Delivery Ratio
Packet Delivery Ratio In this experiment was analyzed 200
't:I
under the same MAC and Physical layer mandatory elements. Qj
c.

Packet drop, effective on Delivery Ratio, is very sensitive to g. 150

C
different specification of MAC and Physical layer. In this ] 100
u
experiment Packet Delivery Ratio was improved by using the <II
0..
50
proposed neighbor discovery method in each scenario. The
advantage of calling on the neighbor discovery process
o
between HELLO timer intervals is that a more accurate list of 10 20 50
Node
neighbors can be delivered, thus reducing packet drop. The
neighbor list is always affected by node mobility, so having
Figure 7: Total number of packet drops
new neighbors in the list after movements helps select the
shortest, fresher route to destination. Figure 6 shows that
D. Average End-to-End
Packet Delivery Ratio is enhanced in each scenario via the
The average end-to-end [12] is an additional performance
proposed neighbor discovery method.
element that is very relevant to the environment of wireless

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 2013 International Conference of Information and Communication Technology (lCoICl)

nodes. In other words, the average end-to-end in a wireless [4] "IEEE 802.11: Wireless LAN Medium Access Control (MAC) and
12 June 2007 revision.
Physical Layer (PHY) Specifications,"
network such as IEEE 802. I I a with a data rate of 11Mb Roger Marks, "IEEE 802.16 WirelessMAN Standard Myths and
[5]
provides less average end-to-end time than a network with a Facts," Presentation at Wireless Communications Coriference,
June 29, 2006.
5Mb data rate. Therefore, data rate in this experiment was set
[6] E. Royer C. Perikins, And S. Das, ""Ad hoc On-Demand Distance
to 11Mb. Figure 8 demonstrates that average end-to-end time Vector(AODV) Routing", IETF RFC 3561, " 2003.
in I-AODV with the proposed neighbor discovery method is [7] 1. D. Chakeres and E. M. Belding-Royer, "The utility of hello
messages for determining link connectivity," in Proc. WPMC, pp.
higher than the original in AODV. Additional processes 504-508, Oct. 2002.
required by neighbor discovery for sending and receiving [8] S Kameyama K. Mase, S. Yoshida, and M. Goto, "A Multihop
Hello Guided Routing for Mobile Ad Hoc Networks," WPMC,
routing packets such as RREQ and RREP, are considered to 2004.
be the reason for this difference. [9] D. Marina K. Srdjan, "Improved Neighbor Detection Algorithm
for AODV Routing Protocol," IEEE Communications Letters, vol.
VoL7, No. 12, pp. 584-586., 2003
• AODV • I-AODV [10] Ns. (2004). The Network Simulator (NS). Available:
180 http://www.nsnam.org/
160 [II] Ahmed Helmy Fan Bai, "A SURVEY OF MOBILITY MODELS
in Wireless Adhoc Networks," ed University of Southern
140
California,U.S.A
!.
'"

120
[12] Adznan Jantan Essam Natsheh, Sabira Khatun, Shamala
"tl
I: 100 Subramaniam, "Adaptive Optimizing of Hello Messages in
W
Wireless Ad-Hoc Networks," The International Arab Journal of
B 80
Information Technology, vol. 4, July 2007.
-0 60
I:
W
40

20

0
10 20 50
Node

Figure 8, Average end-to-end time

VI. CONCLUSION
This paper introduced an innovative, improved neighbor
discovery method for Mobile Ad hoc routing protocols, called
Intelligent-AODV. It provides reasonable performance by
updating the neighbor list based on routing packets such as
RREQ, RREP and RERR. Moreover, the broadcast of HELLO
messages is filtered by checking the destination node in the
neighbor list to reduce overhead. Simulation results of the
proposed neighbor discovery method based on mobility in
various scenarios and compared with the original AODV
demonstrate that I-AODV performs better. As mentioned
before, average end-to-end can be selected as future work of
this paper. Development of the Physical layer or less process
run time of routing protocols for each mobile node are still
required.

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[2] Kenneth Laberteaux Hannes Hartenstein, Ed , VANET Vehicular
Applications and Inter-Networking Technologies. p."pp. Pages.
[3] Abdelouahid Derhab Djamel Djenouri, Nadjib Badache, "Ad hoc
Network Routing Protocols and Mobility," The International Arab
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