Section 19.5. Summary

19.5. Summary

A wireless ad-hoc network supports "independent" wireless and mobile communication systems. A mobile user in fact acts as a routing node. Routing protocols can be centralized versus distributed , static versus adaptive , and table driven versus source initiated routing .

Table-driven routing protocols find routes to all possible destinations before they are needed. The routes are recorded in nodes' routing tables and are updated within predefined intervals. Examples of such protocols are DSDV, CGSR, and WRP. CGSR had a better converging capability than others do. Source-initiated routing protocols, such as DSR, ABR, TORA, and AODV, create routes only when they are requested by source nodes. AODV is very popular owing to its ability to stabilize the routing and its better security. Security is a critical issue in ad-hoc networks. Security vulnerability to various types of attacks can be minimized by meeting specific security criteria.

The next chapter explores a special version of ad-hoc network: sensor network.