Reorientation of Routing From IP to Link Layer for Path Selection in Multi-Hop Networks

Abstract

Routing uses a unique identifier of each participating node in the network to forward the information between two nodes. Traditionally, routing takes place at the network layer of a standard network layering architecture where it takes into account the local or the global network information, albeit, the local information uses a local-scope unique identifier. One of the prime objectives of any routing strategy at the network layer is to forward data from one end to another; however, the same objective can also be achieved at the data link layer by using the hardware address of each node as a unique identifier. This chapter discusses the key questions. (i.e., Why traditional routing is called IP-based routing? What if we reorient the traditional concept of routing on the data link layer? What are the positive and negative impact, to carry out routing at IP—or data link—layer?) This study may be helpful for researchers to understand the concept of IP-based routing and path selection at link layer regardless of the standard layering architecture and the type of IP address.