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MANETs: Challenges and Future Research Scope

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 International Journal of Engineering and Advanced Technology (IJEAT)
ISSN: 2249-8958 (Online), Volume-12 Issue-2, December 2022

MANETs: Challenges and Future Research

Scope
Tanay Jaiswal, N. R. Kidwai

Abstract: MANET (Mobile Ad hoc Network) is an ad hoc be categorized into "single-hop communication" and
network that may be constructed on demand. Due to its dynamic "multiple-hop communication." Nodes in the transmission
nature, it allows nodes in the network to communicate with each range of each other engage immediately in the former,
other without the use of any infrastructure. When compared to whereas the destination is communicated by using multiple
conventional wireless networks, MANET's on-demand setup
makes it more popular. Conventional wireless networks require a
steps or hops in the latter.
central authority for overall system operations, while MANET is These systems can function alone, or they can link to a
an infrastructure-less and self-organized network that is generally larger system, such as the Internet. These networks feature a
a wise choice when it comes to certain application areas like collection of wireless links that multi-hops utilize to
military operations, communication in natural disasters, communicate with one another without the usage of any other
man-made emergencies, rescue procedures, and vehicular ad hoc communication assistance. These are sometimes referred to
network (VANET) for sharing information among vehicles as well
as providing traffic conditions and warnings. This new network,
as multi-hop wireless networks or mobile radio networks.
however, faces several challenges and difficulties, including When two or more multi-hops are within range of one other,
compromised security, routing issues, cooperation, multicasting, one mobile node may receive the transmission from another
power efficiency, IP addressing, QoS etc., that must be properly mobile node.
taken care of before it can be deployed in real-time. The current Wireless communication has grown in popularity in recent
paper provides a full analysis of MANET, including its problems, decades, and it continues to pique the curiosity of a large
concerns, and possible research topics, which will be very useful
for academics who want to begin their work on this subject.
group of experts and academics. MANET is a self-contained
system which has network elements (smartwatches, mobile
Keywords: Ad-hoc Networks, Challenges in MANET, MANET,
phones, PDAs, laptops etc.) that are linked by a wireless
Mobility, Routing, Security, Wireless Communication
connection but lack a standardized wireless link architecture
I. INTRODUCTION and any sort of permanent or fixed infrastructure. MANET is
a self-configurable infrastructure-less network, which
implies that each node is free to go in any direction in the
MANETs are a sort of wireless network that operates network and form any network configuration [2].
without any infrastructure. Because there is no central Because there is no defined infrastructure, the nodes
authority in MANETs, all nodes act as both transmitters and follow a peer-to-peer mode of communication. The point to
receivers for communication purposes. When the endpoint is be noted here is that there are numerous wireless network
inside the source's transmission range (the destination is restrictions, such as a high rate of failure, power limitations,
directly approachable from the source) both can interact bandwidth limitations, and so on, yet these cannot halt the
without the need for any third party; otherwise, the possibility development of wireless communication. MANET is a
of communication relies on the nearest neighbours. This particular topic of interest for corporates and scholars
implies that in MANETs, each node serves as a router [1]. worldwide. Especially because this technology comes in a
MANETS' connections are all bidirectional. The ability of variety of forms, and it is easy to apply in uncompromising
wireless networks to let nodes communicate with each other implementation areas such as disaster management [3].
while being mobile is their most important characteristic.
Because MANETs do not need any fixed infrastructure, II. CURRENT ISSUES AND CHALLENGES
nodes are free to move to any location. Because a MANETS
node's broadcast range is restricted, direct interaction Despite the many features and interesting applications of
between source-destination pairs is unlikely when they are MANET, several difficulties and problems need to be
not in each other’s transmission ranges. hence, intermediary thoroughly examined before widespread commercial
nodes participate in the communication. This mechanism can implementation can be carried out.
These issues are problems with unanswered questions,
which have enormous potential from the research point of
view. Over the past several years, MANETs have gained
Manuscript received on 30 November 2022 | Revised
Manuscript received on 05 December 2022 | Manuscript popularity as a subject of study. Nearly every aspect of the
Accepted on 15 December 2022 | Manuscript published on 30 network has been investigated in some form at various levels.
December 2022. Below are listed MANET's top difficulties and present
*Correspondence Author (s) research trends.[4], [5], [6], [7]:
Tanay Jaiswal*, Department of Electronics and Communication, Integral
University, Lucknow (U. P), India. Email: [email protected]
N. R. Kidwai, Department of Electronics and Communication, Integral
University, Lucknow (U. P), India. Email: [email protected]

© The Authors. Published by Blue Eyes Intelligence Engineering and

Sciences Publication (BEIESP). This is an open access article under the
CC-BY-NC-ND license http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/

Published By:
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DOI: 10.35940/ijeat.B3952.1212222 and Sciences Publication (BEIESP)
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 MANETs: Challenges and Future Research Scope

A. Demand-based vs. proactive operation H. Consumption and management of energy

The operation should be reactive rather than demand-based to Each MANET node functions as both a host and a router. It is
decrease network control overhead and prevent wasting also expected to send data to other network nodes. The
resources (bandwidth, power, processing memory, etc.). routing protocol must reduce overhead and congestion
Hence the protocol must only function when necessary and caused by these control packets. Energy plays a crucial role in
not send control information regularly. route selection, especially during the stages of route
discovery and route repair. Proper management and
B. Support for unidirectional links
maintenance of power is a big issue in MANET.
The radio environment may lead to the development of
unidirectional connections. In addition to being bidirectional, I. The unpredictable nature of the environment
these connections also improve the efficiency of the routing No specific wireless medium defines or restricts the wireless
algorithm. Routing protocols must be bidirectional with an environment. The majority of the time, wireless signals are
option of unidirectionality as per required. blocked and have difficulty passing through solid objects, it
might encompass everything from hills to houses to single
C. Security
walls to persons. When there is an impediment between the
Because the network architecture is not as well defined and end terminals, communication efficiency never is optimal in
the very nature of the transmission medium, the MANET is a Line of Sight (LOS) operation. The possibility of signal
susceptible to a variety of attacks. They are more prone to strength being compromised increases as the number of
security breaches such as repeated transmissions and obstructions between the transmitter and the receiver grows.
spoofing attacks than other wired networks. Although the LOS functioning of terminals is impractical in
Flooding happens frequently. Due to the frequent addition the real world, its effects can be reduced by employing
and removal of numerous nodes, a rogue node may easily particular spectrum frequencies.
penetrate a network. That node will find it easy to monitor
network activity, divert traffic, and overwhelm the whole J. Reliability issues of Wireless Communication
network as a result. Security is crucial to preventing any kind Because of excessive interference in the shared common
of network disruption. channel, wireless media is more error-prone. Interferences
induced by neighbouring frequencies significantly reduce
D. Power conservation
wireless network performance.
Due to their small batteries and tendency to enter a sleep
mode to conserve power, laptops and constrained clients like K. Reliability and Robustness
PDAs can function as nodes in the MANETs network. Thus, A network’s performance can be negatively impacted by
these sleep settings must be supported by the routing nodes that misbehave and links that are not trustworthy.
protocol. These sorts of misbehaviours cannot be discovered and
isolated fast due to a lack of centralised monitoring. The
E. Multiple routes
intricacy of the design is therefore dramatically increased.
The use of multiple routes may minimize the number of
responses to network topology changes and traffic L. Issues in transmission
congestion. If one path is no longer an option, it may still be The wireless medium might lead to some transmission errors.
possible to use a previously cached route, saving the routing The signal received at the receiver end may contain some
protocol from having to repeat the route discovery process. errors if a portion of the signal is impacted by environmental
This may look attractive at first, but maintenance of multiple conditions. The basic networking layers have to provide
paths can be a very complex task. appropriate error detection and correction capabilities.
F. Support for Quality of Service M. Limited Bandwidth
Group communication systems often allow real-time Compared to infrastructure networks, wireless
multimedia applications (e.g. decentralized gaming, communications continue to have a far lesser capacity.
videoconferencing, and streaming services). To send the very Furthermore, after taking into account the effects of multiple
same stream of data to a predefined collection of recipients, access, distortion, interference, fading etc., the actual
these applications require a multicast routing protocol that is throughput of wireless communication is typically
the quality of service (QoS) aware. QoS must be included in significantly lower than the maximum transmission rate of a
some form in routing. radio.
G. Scalability N. Routing
MANET routing protocols must have the ability to adapt their Routing is a prominent topic of discussion among academics
size to suit the requirements of the network. Scalability is a because routing protocols are a crucial problem in this area
network's ability to deliver a sufficient level of service even due to frequent changes in network architecture. To deal with
when there are many nodes. As a network grows, each node extremely dynamic and fluid network conditions, a routing
sends more packets, which depletes the network's finite protocol must be effective and clever.
battery power and reduces its lifespan, making scalability a
key challenge.

Published By:
Retrieval Number:100.1/ijeat.B39521212222 Blue Eyes Intelligence Engineering
DOI: 10.35940/ijeat.B3952.1212222 and Sciences Publication (BEIESP)
Journal Website: www.ijeat.org 110 © Copyright: All rights reserved.
 International Journal of Engineering and Advanced Technology (IJEAT)
ISSN: 2249-8958 (Online), Volume-12 Issue-2, December 2022

O. Time-Varying Nature of Wireless Link Y. IP Addressing

Transmission barriers including route loss, fading, The list of IP addresses given to ad-hoc networks is one of the
obstruction, and interference increase the susceptibility of foremost crucial problems. In MANETs, IP addressing and
wireless channels. Numerous reasons work against wireless address autoconfiguration have received a lot of attention.
transmission efficiency.
Z. Fault Tolerance Mechanism
P. Inter-Networking Due to the mobility of the nodes, it is obvious that they will
Along with communication in an ad hoc network, randomly move and join the network at random, resulting in
inter-networking among IP-based static networks path failures and the formation of new connections as well.
and MANET is extremely important. The operational Fault-tolerance mechanisms are implemented for
management of mobility is complicated further by the use of route maintenance. detection and correction are two primary
routing protocols in such a dynamic environment. functions of fault-tolerant mechanism and is crucial at times
of network failure. This mechanism may not work as
Q. TCP/ UDP
efficiently as one would like.
The two most common protocols used on the Internet are
TCP and UDP. TCP and UDP transport layer protocols are AA. Multiple Accesses
essential for MANET applications including HTTP and The countermeasure of inefficient utilization of bandwidth is
real-time sound / visual. to provide effective medium access protocols that enhance
aggregate channel usage in MANETs by optimizing spectral
R. Asymmetric link
reuse. This has its own set of complications.
In the majority of wired networks, symmetric links—which
are always fixed—are utilised. However, MANET is unique BB. Radio Interface
since the nodes may move throughout the network and do so Mobile nodes use their antennas or radio interface to
often. communicate. It is useful to consider packet forwarding or
reception in MANETs employing radio interfaces or antenna
S. Routing Overhead
approaches. Like every interface, the radio interface may
Due to the topology's mobility and frequent changes, nodes in give rise to standardisation and protocol issues.
MANETs networks usually shift to a new location inside the
network. Because of this, the routing table creates some CC. Frequent Network Partitions
outdated routes, adding to the routing overhead. Partitioning of the network is frequently caused by the
random movement of nodes. The intermediate nodes are most
T. Interference
impacted by this.
As transmission factors cause connections to establish and
break, transmitted data may interfere with the other. DD. Packet Drop Due to Communication Errors
Furthermore, a malicious node may eavesdrop on a MANET incur a significantly greater packet loss because of
conversation between nodes, corrupting the entire variables like increased collisions due to hidden terminals,
communication. unidirectional links, interference, and regular route
breakdowns caused by the mobility of nodes.
U. Dynamic topology
Because of dynamic network topology, mobile nodes may EE. Hidden Terminal Problem
move. As a result of which the communication properties It refers to the simultaneous and parallel transmission
may also change. To take into account these topological by node/s that are not in the sender's direct transmission
changes, MANETs networks must update their routing tables range but are in the receiver's transmission range, resulting in
and algorithms. For instance, in a fixed network, the routing network congestion on the receiver side.
table is refreshed every 30 seconds. For MANETs networks,
FF. Resource-Constrained Nodes
this update frequency could be relatively low. Also, for
optimal route selection, and identification of newly joined Wireless networks enable simultaneous communication
nodes to the network, there is a need for a dynamic update at between several users and a network source. New nodes
the node level. instantly become part of the network, therefore some nodes
that are interacting at the same time will use some of the
V. Distributed operation available bandwidth. The battery, communication bandwidth,
There is no centralised router structure, thus the participating computing power, computational memory, and any extra
nodes must distribute routing. storage are the resources that are limited in the nodes.
Resource constraint at the node level forms the bigger
W. Loop-freeness
problem of bandwidth constraint network.
The aim is to avoid route maintenance and discovery
operations that loop indefinitely between nodes. GG. Node Failures
The issue of ongoing data transfer arises if a node fails to owe
X. Route Changes Caused by Mobility
to a lack of battery power.
An ongoing session experiences numerous path interruptions
in an ad hoc wireless network caused by extremely dynamic
network topology caused by the mobility of nodes.
Frequently changing routes result from this circumstance.

Published By:
Retrieval Number:100.1/ijeat.B39521212222 Blue Eyes Intelligence Engineering
DOI: 10.35940/ijeat.B3952.1212222 and Sciences Publication (BEIESP)
Journal Website: www.ijeat.org 111 © Copyright: All rights reserved.
 MANETs: Challenges and Future Research Scope

One significant research question that is being looked at is the B. QoS-Aware Multicast Routing
failure of intermediary nodes during data transmission. In the Several multicast routing techniques have come to light in
worst-case scenario, these failures can be managed by recent years. Multicast is becoming more significant since it
utilising recovery methods. These failures can be prevented has the potential to lower the amount of bandwidth needed
through efficient prediction algorithms and proper energy for data dissemination in bulk. Multicast routing for
management. MANETs should receive considerable consideration given
HH. Over-congested Links or Competing Nodes the compelling need to save limited wireless bandwidth.
Therefore, using multicast instead of multiple unicast is
MANET only has a finite bandwidth that all active nodes
typically desirable, specifically in a MANET setting when
must use. As a result, the nodes are constrained by their
bandwidth is at a premium. When establishing and
bandwidth usage. Since wireless nodes require the same
maintaining a communications system is challenging,
medium for communication, they naturally compete for
MANETs are used in law and order, emergency
access to the bandwidth's available links. When several nodes
search-and-rescue, social activities (cooperative and
in a region communicate simultaneously, the connections get
distributed), and military operations.
congested.
C. Attacks and Security
II. Geo-casting and Multicasting
The privacy of ad-hoc networks is a crucial issue that
Multicast services enable users to communicate with other
demands attention. Applications that demand a high level of
group members. Users who use broadcast services can
protection against adversaries and eavesdropping attackers
communicate with every network member.
(active and passive) include military and sensitive gatherings.
JJ. Clustering A new protocol must have authenticated headers and the
Clustering's major feature is that it divides the network into required authentication protocols to allocate credentials to
many subgroups known as clusters and provides a suitable users of ad-hoc networks. The development of a secure
foundation for routing, cooperation, resource management, routing protocol utilising evolutionary algorithms is possible
and network support. This may give rise to non-cooperation in the future.
among nodes and network subgroups. D. Location-based Protocols
KK. Heterogeneity Given the increasing use of positioning devices, one
Major components of the Internet of Things (IoT), which will possibility for implementation in MANETs is location-based
be a constant in upcoming research and applications, are routing algorithms. Most Geographic routing protocols
heterogeneous ad hoc networks (HANETs). It is used in employ the common technique of periodic dissemination of
various industries in recent years, particularly in packets including the nodes' coordinates for their
environmental monitoring, weaponry management, geographical location as a means of maintaining Neighbour
automation in transportation, inventory management, smart location data. The ultimate goal is to use less energy while
cities, and other sectors [8]. receiving more packets with adaptive location updates and as
little end-to-end delay as possible. Additionally, the
III. EMERGING PROSPECTS OF RESEARCH Enhanced Adaptive Position Update technique provides a
better answer for node movement on a dynamic basis. In the
In reality, MANET installation and penetration are becoming meanwhile, the following list of hot areas of open research
more challenging. However, designing and analysing a will help MANETs solve some of their inherent challenges,
dependable MANET presents a significant problem due to including expandability, topology changes, mobility, and to a
the expertise needed for a wide variety of topics such as certain extent heterogeneity:
topological complexities, difficulties with route optimization, ▪ Geographic Routing for MANETs Based on Energy.
QoS, scaling, heterogeneity, clustering, dependability, ▪ Using energy-efficient routing techniques for
durability, capacity management, congestion control, and so clustering.
on [9]. The current study may be expanded to provide new ▪ QoS saves energy and allows video streaming
routing protocols that match the following other desirable applications.
characteristics: ▪ Real-time video broadcasts are supported through
A. Secure and QoS–Aware Routing Protocols multicasting and cross-layer design.
MANET routing protocols that prioritise security and quality E. HANET
of service may soon become better and more efficient. A safe Gadgets with varied capabilities (such as mobile phones and
yet QoS-aware routing protocol might be developed in the mobile electronic devices) are connected to create
future. Up until now, routing protocols have mostly heterogeneous ad-hoc networks. These devices must be able
concentrated on routing methods. It could be challenging to to communicate with one another consistently and uniformly.
guarantee both of these conditions at the same time. It is diverse to link several devices in this manner with certain
An extremely secure routing system undoubtedly adds to the possible functions.
routing overhead, which might lower the QoS level.
Consequently, one might look for the best trade-off between
these two factors [10].

Published By:
Retrieval Number:100.1/ijeat.B39521212222 Blue Eyes Intelligence Engineering
DOI: 10.35940/ijeat.B3952.1212222 and Sciences Publication (BEIESP)
Journal Website: www.ijeat.org 112 © Copyright: All rights reserved.
 International Journal of Engineering and Advanced Technology (IJEAT)
ISSN: 2249-8958 (Online), Volume-12 Issue-2, December 2022

It is challenging to establish a standard programming 6. R. S. S. Aditya Gupta1, Prabal Verma2 and 2 1, “An Overview of
MANET: Features, Challenges and Applications,” Indian J. Comput.
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device characteristics, such as memory, storage capacity, and http://www.ijcse.com/docs/INDJCSE12-03-01-144.pdf
processing performance. HANETs, which include wireless 7. J. Liang, M. S. Sheikh, and W. Wang, “A survey of security services,
attacks, and applications for vehicular ad hoc networks (VANETs),”
sensor networks (WSN), wireless fidelity networks (Wi-Fi or
Sensors (Switzerland), vol. 19, no. 16, 2019, doi: 10.3390/s19163589.
Wi-MAX), telephony networks, and intelligent ad hoc [CrossRef]
networks, have emerged as a crucial study area. In recent 8. T. Qiu, N. Chen, K. Li, D. Qiao, and Z. Fu, “Heterogeneous ad hoc
years, researchers have focused on enhancing HANET networks: Architectures, advances and challenges,” Ad Hoc Networks,
vol. 55, no. April 2019, pp. 143–152, 2017, doi:
performance. HANETs are used in a variety of scenarios with 10.1016/j.adhoc.2016.11.001. [CrossRef]
the vast deployment of smart devices. However, enhancing 9. S. K. Chaturvedi and N. Padmavathy, Mobile Ad Hoc Network
the performance of communication among smart terminals is Reliability: An Imperative Research Challenge. 2017. doi:
10.1007/978-3-319-48875-2_4. [CrossRef]
a crucial study area, as are autonomous protocols, 10. P. Gupta, “A Literature Survey of MANET,” Int. Res. J. Eng. Technol.,
energy-aware techniques, and security measures in HANETs. vol. 03, no. 02, pp. 11–14, 2016.

F. Different Network Scenario

AUTHORS PROFILE
A routing system must function in circumstances with high
Tanay Jaiswal, received Bachelor's degree in
levels of mobility, numerous nodes, broad areas, and Electronics and Communication Engineering from
increased traffic. RGPV, Bhopal in 2012 and Master of Technology in
Communication System Engineering from SRM
G. Statistical Route Maintenance University, Chennai. He is currently pursuing PhD in
Electronics and Communication Engineering from
To determine the likelihood of path failure before incidents of
Integral University, Lucknow. His area of interest includes Wireless
route failure, more study in the area of statistical route Networks, Mobile Ad-hoc Networks and Mobile computing.
maintenance is necessary.
Naimur Rahman Kidwai, received the B.Sc. (Engg.)
H. Routing Overhead degree in electronics engineering from the Zakir Hussain
College of Engineering and Technology, Aligarh Muslim
Ad-hoc network bandwidth will be largely used by routing University, India, in 1996, the M.Tech. degree in digital
messages; a new protocol must be developed to further communication from Uttar Pradesh Technical
minimise routing overhead compared to conventional routing University, Lucknow, India, in 2006, and the Ph.D.
degree from Integral University, Lucknow, in 2014. He is currently a
protocols. Professor with the Department of Electronics and Communication, Integral
University.
IV. CONCLUSION
This article provides a wide overview of MANET,
including its problems and potential areas of future study.
Despite all of MANET's benefits, the study mentioned above
indicates that real-time MANET implementation is a very
challenging undertaking. Anonymity, encryption, and other
security goals are very challenging to accomplish. In
MANET, node attributes are also quite challenging to
manage. Therefore, it is determined that before real-time
deployment, the issues and problems with MANET
highlighted in this study must be treated with extreme caution
by creating multiple protocols. Further research will be
conducted in the areas of primarily security applications and
disaster management, followed by others that are viewed as
major future fields of study.

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