Cluster-Based Routing Protocol for Improvement Delay in Mobile Ad-hoc Networks

Cluster based routing in Mobile Ad-Hoc Networks are considered one of the convenient methods of routing. Existence of Cluster Head (CH) in a group of nodes for data forwarding improves the performance of routing in terms of routing overhead and power consumption. However, due to the movement of CH and frequent change in cluster members, cluster reformation is required and increases cluster formation overhead. The stability of the cluster highly dependent of stability of the CH and hence during CH selection special care should be taken so that the cluster head survives for longer time. In this paper, a clustering algorithm using hierarchical routing for mobile ad hoc networks is proposed. In the proposed method, first, clusters are formed by FLOC clustering method with low overlapping. Then, according to the most important network criteria, including hop count, noise ratio, distance, remaining energy, and link expiration time, head clusters are selected based on the weighting algorithm. To transfer data in the proposed method, two types of communication are used, e.g., inter-cluster communication and intra-cluster communication in which the shortest path to the target cluster is selected. The proposed P-METHOD technique is based on hierarchy and clustering as well as using a weighted algorithm that reduces delay in data transmission on the network. Moreover, P-METHOD is evaluated here via extensive simulations carried out in NS-2. The simulation results indicate that the MANET network performance metrics are improved in terms of average throughput, Packet Delivery Ratio (PDR), delay, residual energy, and lifetime.