Ad hoc network is a collection of nodes that is connected through a wireless medium forming dynamically changing topologies. A considerable effort
has been put into studying ad hoc networks over the past decade. Many routing protocols at different layers have been proposed and studied. In this paper, we
discuss about some of the most popular protocols that follow the table-driven and the source-initiated on-demand approaches and a few others, their challenges and
also discuss the future scope of ad hoc networks
The Defense Advanced Research Project Agency
(DARPA) initiated research of using packet switched radio
communication to provide reliable communication between
computers. The introduction of Packet Radio
Network(PRNET) and Survivable Adaptive Radio Networks
(SURAN) from early 1970s to mid 1980s provided packet
switched networking to battlefields or hostile environments by
forming nodes in the network. Approaches such as ALOHA
and CSMA were considered for the PRNET to perform and
later SURAN significantly improved the radio performance
and also provided resilience to electronic attacks. In the early
1990s a new phase in ad hoc networking was seen when
Notebook computers along with Open Source programs
became popular in the commercial market. It was during this
time that the idea of an infrastructure-less collection of mobile
hosts was proposed and the IEEE 802.11 subcommittee
adopted the term “ad hoc networks.” The first generation of
ad hoc networks is called Packet Radio Network (PRNET).
Around the same time, United State Department of Defence
(DOD) continued funding for programs such as Globe Mobile
Information System (GloMo) and Near Term Digital Radio
(NTDR) [3],[4]. With GloMo, it was possible to set up an
Ethernet-type multimedia connectivity for handheld devices
anytime, anywhere. Several routing schemes were developed
during this time and several topologies were experimented.
CSMA/CA and TDMA were some of the popular approaches
used for GloMo. The NTDR was self-organized into a two-tier
ad hoc network which used clustering and link-state routing.
Today NDTR is the only non protypical ad hoc network in use
and is used by the U.S. Army. A good number of commercial
standards and activities have evolved since the mid 90s which
has led to the growth of ad hoc network development.