Tracer assisted passive named data routing for underwater sensor networks

With the ever expanding area of Underwater Sensor Networks (UWSN), many networking challenges have yet to be fully analyzed and addressed. Some of the specific challenges include limited energy resources, node mobility, and broadcast limitations. More importantly, in bigger UWSN with large amounts of sensed data, bottlenecks form at relay nodes transferring packets to the surface. Additionally, this data in transition can be redundant and unimportant. Due to the harsh underwater environment, sensed data location and best routing path can constantly change. To help alleviate some of these challenges we propose Tracer assisted Passive Named Data Routing (TPNDR) protocol. This protocol uses tracers to form adaptive and robust forwarding tables based on data categorization. In this way, TPNDR is able to locate unknown data location and fetch requested data to the surface, without a flooding phase. From the use of timers we ensure that sensed data does not become stale over time. Through simulation of TPNDR, we are able to show improved energy efficiency and routing effectiveness.