Comparative analysis of ad hoc routing protocols based on user's point of view

An ad hoc network is a dynamic topology network having no centralized control or base station. In such a network, routing is a challenging task due to frequently changes in network topology and resource constraints. Many routing protocols have been proposed to overcome various challenges of routing in ad hoc networks. Each routing protocol has some advantages and disadvantages in various situations. So, it is difficult for a group of user's to choose a particular routing protocol for a particular requirement. In this performance analysis paper, we compare six existing well known routing protocols based on user's point of view. The protocols are AODV, DSR, LAR, OLSR, STAR and ZRP. This paper, presents its usefulness by providing comparative analysis of the protocols with the important routing parameters. The parameters are packet delivery ratio, throughput, end-to-end delay, battery power consumption, average hop count for a connection, packet drop due to retransmission limit and average jitter for received packets. We analyze the protocols in a most realistic ad hoc network scenario using simulation. Comparative study of the protocols using the routing parameters is useful to make a decision about a protocol by an analyzer or user that, which protocol is suitable for particular requirements.