Adapting AODV for IEEE 802.15.4 Mesh Sensor Networks: Theoretical Discussion and Performance Evaluation in a Real Environment

Abstract

The IEEE 802.15.4 standard is expected to enable a wide variety of envisaged low-cost control and monitoring applications with relaxed throughput requirements and a strong emphasis on power conservation. A routing protocol is needed for the mesh topology approach, which must take into account the very limited features of the network. In this paper we provide a three-fold contribution. We first review and discuss the main AODV based routing protocol proposals and/or implementations suitable for the quoted environments. Next, we present NST-AODV, a new AODV implementation designed to provide benefits in terms of data delivery latency, network reliability and power consumption, specially in dynamic topology networks. Finally, we evaluate the tradeoffs and most critical features of our solution in a real IEEE 802.15.4 mesh sensor network testbed