An Approach for Performance Enhancement of Secure Routing Protocols in Mobile Ad Hoc Networks

Abstract

Mobile ad hoc networks (MANETs) represent complex distributed systems that comprise wireless mobile nodes that can freely and dynamically self-organize into arbitrary and temporary network topologies, allowing people and devices to seamlessly internetwork in areas with no pre-existing communication infrastructure. Although the principle of wireless, structure-less and dynamic networks is attractive, there are still some major flaws that prevent its commercial expansion. Security is one of these main barriers. The open and dynamic operational environment of MANET makes it vulnerable to various network attacks. The security goals can be achieved using secure routing protocols. Ad hoc On-demand Distance Vector (AODV) is one of the most widely used routing protocols that is currently undergoing extensive research. This thesis presents the AODV protocol and surveys security enhancements using both cryptographic and trust based approaches. The impact of security features on routing performance was analyzed. The addition of a trust based approach with cryptographic features reduces routing overheads significantly. The proposed mechanism offers more resilience to attack from malicious nodes, while also promotes collaboration among cooperative nodes and penalizes selfish nodes. The simulation results show that the proposed trust model increases routing efficiency and reliability at cost of delay.