A lightweight load balancing and route minimizing solution for routing protocol for low-power and lossy networks

Abstract Routing Protocol for Low-Power and Lossy Networks (RPL) is considered as one of the essential information forwarding options for the Internet of Thing appliances, which possesses a flexible design. However, RPL suffers from the lack of an applicable load balancing mechanism in massive traffic scenarios. Uneven traffic distribution leads to congestion and deteriorates packet losses, delay periods, power consumption handling, and finally, reduces network lifetime. The present study proposed a scheme named “Lightweight Load Balancing and Route Minimizing solution for RPL” (L2RMR), compromising a novel Objective Function (OF) and a new routing metric based on the minimization of path routes. Also, a Probability Function was introduced, which prevents from creating the general Herd Decampment Phenomenon (HDP) problem. The proposed solution enables delayed parent joining for the nodes in order to achieve a lower rank instead of a greedy thundering, leading to multiple instabilities in the network topology. The present study evaluated L2RMR performance using the Contiki-Cooja simulator. To this end, L2RMR was examined under scenarios, including variable network sizes, transmission rates, and density. The simulation results revealed that this mechanism could enhance the average Packet Loss Ratio, End-to-End Delay, and energy consumption criteria in an environment incorporated with RPL and other comparative approaches.