Unicast performance analysis of the ODMRP in a mobile ad hoc network testbed

The on-demand multicast routing protocol (ODMRP) is an effective and efficient routing protocol designed for mobile wireless ad hoc networks. One of the major strengths of ODMRP is its capability to operate both as a unicast and a multicast routing protocol. This versatility of ODMRP can increase network efficiency as the network can handle both unicast and multicast traffic with one protocol. We describe the unicast functionality of ODMRP and analyze the protocol performance in a real ad hoc network testbed of seven laptop computers in an indoor environment. Both static and dynamic networks are deployed. We generate various topological scenarios in our wireless testbed by applying mobility to network hosts and study their impacts on our protocol performance. We believe that the performance study in a testbed network can help us analyze the protocol in a realistic way and indicate the direction for future research.