Opportunistic Networks: A Review
Navneet Kaur, Gauri Mathur · 2016
Opportunistic network is a wireless ad hoc network. It is a type of delay tolerant network and an extension of mobile ad hoc networks. This network has a special characteristic which is intermittent connectivity. From intermittent we mean that connections are not stable and connections occur at irregular intervals. Connection may or may not occur which depends on the suitability of selecting a node which can carry the message closer to the destination or to the destination itself. End to end connections for transmission of data are unavailable here and they use store and forward technique for transmission of data. As end to end connections are not present so routes are established dynamically without having any knowledge about the network topology. Here, intermediate nodes are used for the delivery of message to its intended destination. These intermediate nodes store the messages with them until they find any other suitable node in their communication range which can successfully take the message closer to the destination. Once, a node is found within the range, the message is forwarded to that node. Now this selected node will find another suitable node in its range and the process is repeated until there is successful delivery to the destination. As every node has an opportunity to select a suitable node in their range, so these networks are known as opportunistic networks. This paper provides a quick review of mobile opportunistic networks including their routing protocols, challenges, and applications.