DRiPLOF: An RPL Extension for Multi-Interface Wireless Sensor Networks in Interference-Prone Environments

Area of Science:

• Computer Science
• Networking
• Wireless Sensor Networks

Background:

• Routing Protocol for Low-power and Lossy Networks (RPL) is standard for Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs).
• Existing RPL configurations do not account for modern wireless hardware or increased contention.
• External stressors like jamming and interference degrade network performance.

Purpose of the Study:

• To extend RPL by leveraging multi-interfaced wireless devices to mitigate performance degradation.
• To design, develop, and evaluate a novel RPL Objective Function (OF).
• To compare the proposed OF against traditional and state-of-the-art multi-interface approaches.

Main Methods:

• Developed a novel RPL Objective Function (OF) for multi-interfaced devices.
• Conducted simulations under two scenarios: with and without jamming.
• Compared the proposed OF against single-interface and existing multi-interface approaches.

Main Results:

• The proposed OF auto-selects the best interface in normal conditions with minimal overhead.
• Under jamming, the novel OF achieved stable end-to-end delivery ratios exceeding 90%.
• Compared to alternatives averaging 65% delivery ratio under jamming, the proposed OF demonstrated superior stability and performance.

Conclusions:

• The novel RPL OF effectively utilizes modern multi-interfaced devices to enhance network resilience.
• The solution offers significant improvements in delivery ratios and stability, especially under interference.
• The open-sourced codebase facilitates adoption for RPL deployments facing interference or uncertain radio conditions.