A survey of routing protocols based on link-stability in mobile ad hoc networks

Mobile ad hoc networks (MANET) are a subclass of wireless and mobile networks. All nodes in MANET are mobile and they communicate with each other without fixed infrastructures. The QoS (Quality of Services) routing is one of the recent most challenges for mobile ad hoc networks. Several works have been proposed to address this challenge. The major problem of these works is that they do not consider the stability of paths in their paths establishment process. For this, the routing based on link stability has become a challenge. Several factors can influence on the paths stability such as the mobility of nodes belonging to the path, the path overhead, and the residual energy of nodes constituting the path. In the jargon of MANET we denote by the link stability, the durability and the lifetime of the link. Several protocols have been proposed to contribute for solving this problem. In this paper, we present a survey of recent routing solutions. We start by giving general definitions related to the mobility and the link stability. Then, we propose a classification for the routing protocols based on the link stability. For each proposed class, we will list examples of routing protocols. Finally, a conclusion and future research directions are discussed.