Sink-to-Sink Coordination Framework Using RPL: Routing Protocol for Low Power and Lossy Networks

Rpl (routing protocol for low power and lossy networks) is recommended by internet engineering task force (ietf) for ipv6-based llns (low power and lossy networks). rpl uses a proactive routing approach and each node always maintains an active path to the sink node. sink-to-sink coordination defines syntax and semantics for the exchange of any network defined parameters among sink nodes like network size,traffic load,mobility of a sink,and so forth. the coordination allows sink to learn about the network condition of neighboring sinks. as a result,sinks can make coordinated decision to increase/decrease their network size for optimizing over all network performance in terms of load sharing,increasing network lifetime,and lowering end-to-end latency of communication. currently,rpl does not provide any coordination framework that can define message exchange between different sink nodes for enhancing the network performance. in this paper,a sink-to-sink coordination framework is proposed which utilizes the periodic route maintenance messages issued by rpl to exchange network status observed at a sink with its neighboring sinks. the proposed framework distributes network load among sink nodes for achieving higher throughputs and longer network's life time. © 2016 meer m. khan et al.