F-ETX: a predictive link state estimator for mobile networks

Abstract

Due to their inherent features, Mobile Ad Hoc Networks have proven their efficiency to exchange data between mobile nodes. The main issue in this type of a network is the delivery of data to a destination. Unfortunately, the mobility of nodes and the disturbances of the propagation channel lead to the increase of the loss rate, which undermines routing performances. To address this issue, routing protocols use link quality estimators as a metric. However, current estimators have been designed for static wireless sensor networks and are not suitable in case of mobility. In order to overcome this issue, a novel metric called Fast ETX is suggested, which gives a reliable and accurate link quality assessment. It is setup by four estimators which assess and predict the link state. In addition, we design a framework to integrate this multi-estimator metric into a routing protocol.