Implementation and evaluation of the DFF protocol for advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) networks

Abstract

This paper evaluates the Depth First Forwarding (DFF) protocol - a reliable data forwarding mechanism for use in low power, lossy networks. Routing protocols used for lossy networks typically take time to converge if the topology changes, during which data failure may occur. DFF was proposed to help reduce this; it reacts to data delivery failures at a node by trying to successfully deliver the packet while giving time for the routing protocol to converge the network state. This paper discusses different implementation strategies for DFF, and confirms by the experimental results that using DFF significantly increases the delivery ratio at the cost of slightly increased path length and RTT (Round Trip Time).