On the classification of routing protocols in mobile ad-hoc networks

We present an overview of existing classifications of ad hoc routing and topology control protocols. Originally created to clarify protocols behaviors, separate classifications can be found for routing, topology control, broadcasting and location management protocols. In recent years, the term "hybrid" began to be broadly used for algorithms
that should be classified in more than one class. Therefore, those classifications became difficult to understand, and new protocols
hard to classify. In this paper, we are proposing an original classification of broadcasting techniques, location management, topology control,
and routing protocols for mobile ad hoc networks. The proposed classification does not consider which classes a protocol belongs to but instead, from a node level point of view, in which order it applies different classes it belongs to. Finally, we discuss the benefits of our approach and provide examples of our classification applied to well known routing and topology control protocols.