ZBMF: Zone Based Message Ferrying for Disruption Tolerant Networks

We introduce Zone Based Message Ferrying (ZBMF), a hybrid protocol for Disruption Tolerant Networks (DTN) which combines the concept of message ferrying with the well known DTN routing protocols. ZBMF, transforms the disrupted network space into a connected network topology by dividing it into overlapping ferry routing zones. ZBMF gives DTN message routing a sense of direction, thus providing both contained dissemination of copies of messages and faster delivery of messages in the network. ZBMF does not dictate a strict movement pattern to message ferries, which can be very useful in the real world. Rescue helicopters, school buses, tanks or soldiers in the battle field, all can be designated as message ferries and carry messages without changing their activity and movement schedules. Due to its low overhead, ZBMF can be used to cover large areas of disrupted communication such as cities and large disaster areas. Finally, we implement our ZBMF on the Opportunistic Network Environment (ONE) Simulator and evaluate it as performing better in terms of overhead and latency than other well known protocols for Disruption Tolerant Networks while maintaining equally high delivery ratios.