A Probabilistic Algorithm for Reducing Broadcast Redundancy in Ad Hoc Wireless Networks

Abstract: In a wired network, a packet can be transmitted to a specified destination only, no broadcasting required. But in ad hoc wireless network a packet transmitted by a node can reach all neighbors due to broadcasting. This broadcasting introduces unnecessary retransmissions of same message. Therefore, the total number of transmissions (forward nodes) is generally used as the cost criterion for broadcasting. The problem of finding the minimum number of forward nodes is NP-complete. In this paper, the goal is to reduce the number of forward nodes which will reduce redundant transmission as a result. Thus some of approximation approaches are analyzed, especially dominant pruning and total dominant pruning which use 2-hop neighborhood information and a new approach: Probability based algorithm is proposed with a view to minimizing number of forward nodes. Simulation results of applying this algorithm shows performance improvements with compared to dominant pruning and total dominant pruning algorithms.