Distance Vector Routing in Partitioned Networks

We present a disconnection tolerant routing protocol, Binary State Distance Vector Routing (BSDVR), that can provide unicast routing on partitioned networks. BSDVR introduces binary state information for distance vector (DV) entries to compute unicast paths even if the network is partitioned. We compare BSDVR against the traditional DV routing (TDVR) in a controlled network. Our experiments confirm that BSDVR generates more control overhead during single link failures that do not cause partitions. In terms of partition-causing link failures, BSDVR’s control overhead is less than TDVR’s by an order of magnitude, leading to much better convergence times.