Routing protocols and architecture for Disaster Area Network: A survey

Disaster Area Network (DAN) is very crucial in case of natural or man-made disasters. During state of emergency, a rapidly deployable network is the highest priority to conduct search and rescue operations. This survey aims at investigating network architecture and routing models for disaster area networks. The main objective and goal of DAN is to ensure reliable, energy efficient communication which is susceptible to mobility and topology changes in the disaster area. The purpose is to improve delay, reduce overhead, minimize energy used, sustain movement and increase bandwidth for multimedia applications. Mobile Ad hoc network (MANET) addresses issues related to rapid and temporary setup and terminal probability and mobility in a disaster area until conventional infrastructure communication is established. We study the different routing protocols using MANETS or a combination of MANETS and other networks that are available in the literature to build up an efficient DAN.