A Predictive Routing Algorithm Using Ant Agents for MANETS

A MANET is a momentary configuration of network which consists of wireless mobile hosts. The participating devices communicate through wireless channels and no centralized infrastructure is employed to monitor or control the topology changes. Existing routing algorithms are focusing only on delay related metrics like data or channel rate, propagation delay and queuing delays, the delay metrics alone cannot give a reliable path for a successful data transmission. The external factors like signal interference, noise interference and path lose models affect signal quality and reduce reliability of data transmission. Packet lose ratio will be very high if an error prone route is selected for data transmission. The more number of retransmissions influence and degrade the overall performance of routing algorithms. Predictive routing algorithm using ant agents for MANET is a novel idea to establish an error free, reliable and shortest path between two nodes in a MANET. The content based route request and link error based path updating will give a direction to a successful and error free data transmission in an unreliable and noise dominant wireless network.