A directional gossip protocol for path discovery in MANETs ∗

In this paper we present a gossip based protocol for path discovery in Mobile Ad Hoc Networks (MANETs). While in the classical gossip algorithm each node for-wards a packet with the same probability, our proposal is characterized by a variable gossiping probability, which is high enough only for sustaining the spreading process towards the destination. No external location service, e.g. via GPS, is required to determine the gossip probability at each node; rather, the estimation is done from the “inside” of the network by using periodic beacons. The paper reports a simulation study and a mathematical model for better understanding the property of the directional gossip process.