NFA: A New Algorithm to Select MPRs in OLSR

In this paper a new algorithm for the selection of multipoint relays (MPR) in optimized link state routing protocol (OLSR) is proposed. OLSR is a routing protocol which could reduce the overhead of control messages by selecting MPRs. So, the number of MPRs is a key for the performance of OLSR. However, as the greedy algorithm introduced in RFC 3626 has some problems with MPR selection, which will make a negative effect on the performance of OLSR, a new algorithm called necessity first algorithm (NFA) is proposed here with the goal of solving the problem of greedy algorithm and decreasing the number of MPRs. It is shown by the simulation that compared with greedy algorithm, NFA can reduce the number of MPRs by percentages varying from 0.7% to 11.2% and this is important for the reduction of overhead in the network.