Probabilistic Routing in Intermittently Connected Networks

In this paper, we address the problem of routing in intermittently connected networks. In such networks there is no guarantee that a fully connected path between source and destination exists at any time, rendering traditional routing protocols unable to deliver messages between hosts. There does, however, exist a number of scenarios where connectivity is intermittent, but where the possibility of communication still is desirable. Thus, there is a need for a way to route through networks with these properties. We propose PRoPHET, a probabilistic routing protocol for intermittently connected networks and compare it to the earlier presented Epidemic Routing protocol through simulations. We show that PRoPHET is able to deliver more messages than Epidemic Routing with a lower communication overhead.