RPL LOAD BALANCING IN INTERNET OF THINGS

Abstract

ABSTRACT:  The wide address space provided by Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) lets any thing to be identified uniquely. consistency of the modified version of IPv6 protocol stack with smart objects, facilitated the Internet interconnection of the networks of smart objects and introduced Internet of things. A smart object is a small micro-electronic device that consists of a communication device, a small microprocessor and a sensor or an actuator. A network made of such devices is called low-power and lossy network. RPL routing protocol that is consistent to IPv6, is designed to be used in these kinds of networks. Load balancing is not considered in the RPL design process. Whenever RPL is used in large scale low-power and lossy networks some nodes will suffer from congestion and this problem severely degrades network performance. In this paper, we consider solutions provided to tackle RPL load balancing problems. Load balancing algorithms and protoclos are evaluated through simulation. We evaluate IETF RPL implementation and LB-RPL method with Contiki OS Java (COOJA) simulator. They are assessed comprehensively through metrics such as Packet delivery Ratio, Average End to End delay, and Gateway Throughput. LB-RPL improves RPL in terms of Packet delivery Ratio and throughput but increases Average End to End delay. Simulations results show that RPL load balancing needs extensive works to be performed yet.