Multipath traffic balancing approach for disconnection reduction in video games over mobile ad hoc networks

Abstract

In this work, we aim to improve the gameplay of time-sensitive video games over mobile ad hoc networks (MANETs). We focus on the disconnection problems. Precisely, when the path between a player and the game server fails, the game on the player side freezes and becomes unplayable until the network re-establishes a new path toward the game server. In MANETs, disconnections occur mainly because of node mobility. To overcome this problem, we propose a multipath approach that we combine with an adaptive traffic balancing algorithm. Precisely, for each source-destination couple, we maintain two Optimized Link State Routing paths using the end-to-end delay metric. Each path carries a proportion of the game traffic. Our traffic balancing algorithm relies on path robustness estimation to dynamically balance the game traffic between the two paths. The results of our experiments, which are based on a real implementation of our proposals, show that using multipath routing with traffic balancing among different paths reduces route failures and improves the gameplay experience. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.