Simulation and testbed evaluation for optimizing energy consumption in ad hoc networks based on OLSR protocol

Abstract

This paper presents a proposal to optimize energy consumption in ad hoc networks based on the OLSR protocol. This approach focuses on the set up of routes with less congestion level and higher energy capacity. Therefore, in addition to the remaining energy of nodes, a new metric is introduced, the strategic value, which reports the importance of a specific node in the network based on the numbers of neighbors it has. In order to obtain valuable results, the evaluation was performed in a simulation environment (NS3) and on a real testbed. In that sense, an actual ad hoc network was implemented using embedded devices (Raspberry Pi). Results show a decrease in energy consumption, especially in zones with the highest device density, as well as an increase of the time of operation for nodes with higher amount of neighbors. Additionally, the performed evaluation shows a positive effect in the quality of traffic flows, avoiding route breakages and packet losses.