Enhanced 6LoWPAN Ad hoc routing for G3-PLC

Abstract

G3-PLC is a powerline communication standard employing OFDM technology for the physical layer. The Medium Access Control (MAC) layer is derived from IEEE 802.15.4 as an interface between Logical Link Control (LLC) and the physical layer. It adopted Low-Power Wireless Personal Area Network (6LoWPAN) specification to facilitate IPv6 interaction at the network layer. Due to hostile power line environment, 6LoWPAN Ad hoc protocol (LOAD) is used as an efficient routing method over varying network topologies and link conditions. Since LOAD is originally developed for wireless networks, it does not consider some specific channel characteristics of power line networks in its routing strategy. This paper describes unique enhancements to LOAD routing tailored to power line communications to address issues such as asymmetrical routing, to minimize the number of control messages and to handle the ghost node issue.