A comparison of AODV and DSR under attack by black hole nodes in a ns-3 simulation

Abstract

Mobility and portability of wireless communication devices in Mobile Ad Hoc Networks (MANETs) have introduced data security threats. These threats are due to the utilisation of multiple hops resulting from limited transmission ranges between the source and destination nodes. This study aims to prove the impact black hole attacks can have on MANETs, more speci cally, how attacks impact two di erent re- active protocols. It is envisioned that a comparative analysis of two protocols, AODV and DSR, will assist the audience understand their side by side performance while under attack with nodes using vary- ing models of mobility. The simulation criteria used have network conditions favourable for optimum functioning of reactive protocols. Optimal conditions for the functioning of reactive protocols include densely distributed nodes that do not move sporadically. The simulation is conducted using ns-3 and NetAnim. It involves the use of a base implementation of AODV and DSR using ns-3 as a benchmark for the e ects that black hole nodes introduce into a network. Similarly, the AODV and DSR implementation that have black hole nodes present in the network is included, in order to measure the e ects of the black hole nodes. Thereafter, the performance of these protocols is compared when under attack, keeping the environment the same. Results generated from this study indicate that DSR outperforms AODV while having black hole nodes in the node population under various con gurations. The dominance of DSR is ascribed to the fact that DSR can keep several routes and make a decision on those routes, while AODV gives more responsibility to the network for the best route. This means that, changing the hop count to a low value can fool the source node to choose the route.