Eigen Vector Centrality (EVC) Routing for Delay Tolerant Networks: A Time Associated Matrix-Based Approach

Delay Tolerant Networks (DTNs) are marked by the extended delay in message delivery and unavailability of a dedicated path from the source to the destination. To this end, determining the appropriate relay nodes for effective message delivery becomes crucial. In this work, we have used Eigenvector centrality to measure the importance of a node for relay node prediction. The nodes that encounter frequently usually contribute to the initial improvement of message delivery probability. However, in some cases, the nodes encountered infrequently are exceptionally important in the message transfer process. For relay node selection, we have also taken into consideration a time associated matrix which is updated periodically. This matrix is filled based on contact frequency and contact duration to improve the overheads. A series of simulations has been carried out and experimental results show the efficacy of the proposed eigenvector centrality (EVC) based approach. It is observed that EVC routing reduced more overheads as compared to other existing protocols. We also analyzed the proposed protocol for delivery probability and average latency.