Using routing zones to support route maintenance in ad hoc networks

Previous work in ad hoc network routing protocol development has demonstrated how global route discovery can be performed more efficiently by leveraging the known topology of each node's local surrounding area (routing zone). In this paper, we demonstrate how routing zones can also be applied to the maintenance of these discovered routes. In particular, knowledge of routing zone connectivity can be used to automatically bypass link failures and provide "shortcuts" across sub-optimal segments of the route. These mechanisms contribute to a reduction in network load and end-to-end delay, while improving the stability of active connections.