A Survey on Congestion Control for RPL-Based Wireless Sensor Networks.

Area of Science:

• Computer Science
• Networking
• Internet of Things

Background:

• The IPv6 Routing Protocol for Low-Power and Lossy Networks (RPL) is a standard for IoT environments.
• Congestion significantly impacts network performance and lifetime in Low-Power and Lossy Networks (LLNs).
• Existing end-to-end congestion control mechanisms are often infeasible in resource-constrained LLNs.

Purpose of the Study:

• To survey and analyze existing RPL schemes designed for congestion control.
• To review load-balancing strategies integrated with RPL.
• To identify future research directions for enhancing RPL in congested LLNs.

Main Methods:

• Comprehensive literature review of RPL congestion control and load-balancing techniques.
• Categorization and analysis of proposed RPL modifications and enhancements.
• Discussion of the effectiveness and limitations of current approaches.

Main Results:

• RPL requires specific mechanisms for effective congestion control in LLNs.
• Various schemes have been proposed to mitigate congestion and balance loads within RPL.
• The survey provides a consolidated overview of these advancements.

Conclusions:

• RPL plays a critical role in managing congestion in resource-constrained IoT networks.
• Further research is needed to optimize RPL for robust congestion control and load balancing.
• Addressing congestion is key to improving the overall lifetime and efficiency of LLNs.