GAPR2: a DTN routing protocol for communications in challenged, degraded, and denied environments

Abstract

This thesis explores the foundation of modern Disruption Tolerant Protocols. It introduces a previously unpublished protocol with high probability of delivery called the Geolocation Assisted Predictive Routing (GAPR) Protocol and implements Vector Routing for The ONE Simulator. GAPR and Vector are then combined and implemented as GAPR2, a new protocol that provides delivery ratio near the best in the field while incurring a quarter of the overhead. GAPR2, GAPR, and Vector, along with the most widely referenced DTN routing protocols (Epidemic, MaxProp, and PRoPHETv2) are extensively simulated and their performance evaluated using three mobility models: the Helsinki scenario, a random mobility model, and a military scenario based on a real-world annual exercise. The custom-built military mobility model uses GIS topographical data and custom GIS overlays to implement a realistic scenario terrain. The performance of each protocol is evaluated. This thesis shows through simulation that DTN networks can be employed to enhance communications capabilities without expensive infrastructure or significant platform upgrades. Further, this thesis shows through large-scale simulations that such a network is capable of operating over hundreds of square kilometers and provides the simulation framework to test future routing protocols or equipment configurations.