Trust Framework for Data Forwarding in Opportunistic Networks Using Mobile Traces

Abstract

Opportunistic networks are usually formed spontaneously by mobile devices equipped with short range wireless communication interfaces. The idea is that an end-to-end connection may never be present. Designing and implementing a routing protocol to support both service discovery and delivery in such kinds of networks is a challenging problem on account of frequent disconnections and topology changes. In this network one of the most important issues relies on the selection of the best intermediate node to forward the messages towards the destination. This paper presents a trust framework for opportunistic network where the nodes in the network follow the trace based mobility model. The selection of next hop to forward the data packets is based on the trust value as well as the direction of movement of node towards the destination. The trust value is obtained from the trust framework of the data forwarding node. The direction of destination is obtained from the movement trace file that is maintained by the nodes in the network. In this proposed framework, the message is encrypted to secure both the data and path information. The effectiveness of this proposed framework is shown using simulation.