EZRP:: an enhanced zone-based routing protocol for ad-hoc networks

In mobile ad-hoc networks (MANETs), the nodes intercommunicate through single-hop and multi-hop paths in a peer-to-peer fashion. Intermediate nodes between two pairs of communication nodes act as routers. Thus, the nodes operate both as hosts and routers. The nodes are mobile, so the topology of the network may change rapidly and unexpectedly. One well-known routing protocol for ad-hoc networks is the Zone Routing Protocol (ZRP). However, when the protocol searches for a new route, it sends many useless control packets, which increase the network load and decrease the network performance. In this paper, we propose an Enhanced Zone Routing Protocol (EZRP). In EZRP, each node calculates the reliability of the route. In the case of a reliable route, the source node sends the data packet directly to the destination node using that route without route searching. In the case of an unreliable route, the source node searches for a new route again. We show that the network performance can be improved by using EZRP. Copyright (C) 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.