A Comprehensive Review of Energy Efficient Routing Protocols in Delay Tolerant Networks: Categorization, Insights, Comparative and Empirical Evaluation
Jul 2026· Wireless personal communications· Vol 146, pp. 5219 - 5264· 0 citations· 72 references
TL;DR
This paper empirically analyses the existing routing protocols such as Epidemic, Spray and Wait, Prophet, Encounter Based Routing using different parameters, such as number of nodes, buffer size, etc., to analyse energy consumption in terms of overhead.
Energy-efficient and robust routing remains a critical problem in wireless sensor networks (WSNs), where limited energy resources and dynamic topologies hinder performance. To address this challenge, a novel cluster-based routing protocol FGOGNN is proposed in this paper, which integrates a Fungal Growth Optimizer (FGO) for adaptive cluster head (CH) selection and a Graph Neural Network (GNN) for inter-cluster routing. The FGO simulates fungal growth processes, ensuring balanced and energy-efficient CH selection while preventing premature convergence. In the routing phase, the GNN dynamically adapts routing paths by leveraging node energy, connectivity, and directional edge features, offering low computational overhead while maintaining accuracy. Extensive simulations show that FGOGNN outperforms existing routing protocols, extending network lifetime by up to 75% and improving throughput by 38%, with a reduction in end-to-end delay. These results demonstrate FGOGNN’s potential for deployment in real-time WSN applications, where energy efficiency and dynamic adaptability are paramount.
Huang-shui Hu, Shuo Liu, Qier Kang et al.· Symmetry· 0 citations
Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) have gained significant attention in recent research due to their potential in various applications. However, energy conservation remains a critical challenge, as the nodes within these networks operate on non-replaceable batteries. This paper introduces a cluster-based proactive routing protocol designed for three-tier energy-heterogeneous WSNs, aiming to enhance network lifetime and energy efficiency. The proposed protocol incorporates a modified threshold-based cluster head (CH) selection mechanism, which considers both the energy levels and distances of sensor nodes (SNs) relative to the base station (BS). This approach prioritizes nodes with higher energy and closer proximity to the BS, increasing their likelihood of being elected as CHs. Furthermore, this protocol minimizes the formation of unnecessary CHs, particularly for SNs with low remaining energy, thereby reducing energy waste. Moreover, the proposed protocol is modified to address the challenge of long transmission distances for low-power nodes by strategically deploying them in specific network zones, thus further optimizing energy efficiency. Simulation results demonstrate that the modified protocol outperforms existing protocols such as SEP, IMPLEACH, and EEECA-THWSN in terms of total network lifetime, stability period (first node death), half-node death, last node death, throughput, and normalized remaining energy. Numerically, the proposed protocol with normal zone improves network performance, achieving an increase of up to 27% in network lifetime and throughput compared to other protocols.
F. A. Mohamed, E. Hassan, M. Dessouky et al.· Scientific Reports· 0 citations
Mobile nodes are continuously moving in the network and form the link to transfer the information between source and destination. All the mobile nodes have limited bandwidth and limited battery power. Energy is the primary source required for route establishment and data transfer to all the interconnected nodes. If the nodes have a limited amount of energy, it means immediate action is required to switch to the other node or re-establish the route for proper data transfer. In this research, a novel energy-efficient multipath routing for load balancing (EMRD-LB) is capable of improving the routing performance. The EMRD-LB approach is efficiently utilizing the energy of nodes and link capacity to avoid congestion from the network. This method enhances data flow and extends the operational lifespan of the network nodes. By dynamically adjusting the routing paths based on current energy levels, the system ensures optimal performance even under varying load conditions. The load balancing is required to reduce the packet dropping and control the extra load by reducing the data rate and buffer management. The proposed scheme is also capable of reducing overhead, which is typically increased due to data retransmissions and delays in acknowledgement packets. Flooding of overhead packets increases bandwidth consumption and delays in data forwarding. The performance of EMRD-LB is compared with QMR, AOMDV, and MMEE, and the performance of the proposed scheme is better. The EMRD-LB reduces delay, reduces packets dropping and improves data receiving.
Aradhana Saxena, Nitika Vats· International journal of com...· 0 citations
Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) are generally constrained by their built-in energy limits, leading to very short operational lifespans. Moreover, the node energy reserves of homogeneous WSNs are far lower than those of heterogeneous WSNs. For this reason, energy-efficient routing is a core optimization direction for this type of network. The core research goal of this paper is to optimize dynamic routing protocols to improve the performance of the classic LEACH protocol in heterogeneous WSNs. We propose to enhance energy efficiency through a real-time adaptive scheme, which relies on two core methods: a cluster head selection mechanism based on the residual energy criterion, and a priority hop count strategy. It is a widely agreed conclusion in the field that hierarchical routing for heterogeneous WSNs outperforms flat routing and location-based routing in both energy efficiency and scalability. This paper also implements three supporting technologies: topology control, adaptive routing, and power management. These technologies reduce energy consumption through multi-hop clustering and optimized relay selection, ultimately supporting more flexible routing strategies, extending the network's operational cycle, and meeting the application requirements in the Internet of Things and information technology fields.
Vishwajit K. Barbudhe, Shruti Dixit· International journal of com...· 0 citations
Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) find application in environmental monitoring, industrial automation, health care, and the Internet of Things. However, energy restrictions of nodes and faulty routing mechanisms affect network lifetime and communication. To address these issues, this paper presents an Energy-Efficient Cluster-Based Multi-Hop Routing (E2CMR) protocol, an enhanced version of the LEACH routing protocol. The framework suggests RSSI-based methods for node layering, adaptive selection of cluster heads, and energy-aware multi-hop routing to balance energy consumption. Using residual energy, initial energy, and average network energy, an enhanced threshold function is developed to select an optimal cluster head for efficient rotation. Moreover, energy-aware route establishment reduces transmission distance and communication overhead, thereby enhancing packet delivery performance. The proposed protocol was validated in an NS-2 simulation using 100 similar sensor nodes. The following protocols were compared with ECI-LEACH, ESCH, and the ICSI routing protocol. The experimental results show that E2CMR achieves a maximum throughput of 370 kbps, delaying the first node's death to the 30th round. In the 50th round, it maintains 26% residual energy, routing overhead reduces to 26, and network lifetime improves by 38%. The results indicate that E2CMR improves energy efficiency, network stability, and routing performance and is applicable for large-scale energy-constrained WSNs.
Sushma Priyadarshini, Anuradha T· International journal of com...· 0 citations
The proposed Energy-Efficient Adaptive On-Demand Distance Vector protocol to reduce extra Route Request (RREQ) packets based on local node density demonstrates that reducing control packets is an effective solution for high-density MANET environments to maintain network stability.
Sonu Kumar, Ambuj Bhushan Gautam, K. Govil· International Journal of Adv...· 0 citations