A Comprehensive Study of Secure Clustering and Routing for MANET using Fuzzy Clustering and Optimization Algorithm

A Mobile Ad hoc Network (MANET) is a data transmission technique with an independent network that remains connected to other networks through wireless communication. Secure routing in MANET focuses on protecting the network from various malicious attacks, such as wormhole, gray-hole, and blackhole attacks, while considering key features of MANET, such as self-creation, self-administration, and self-organization. The design of routing and clustering processes aims to improve network lifetime and enhance security, which presents a challenging task. This challenge is addressed through a trust-based optimization method in MANETs. The optimization approach helps determine cluster head selection and the optimal routes for clustering and data transmission across the network. The study investigates the multiple security risks to MANETs and the existing methods used to address them, namely, fuzzy-based algorithms, crow search algorithms, and optimization-based algorithms, such as Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO), for detecting and preventing network security breaches. The performance of secure clustering and routing is evaluated using MATLAB tools, with key performance metrics of end-to-end delay, latency, throughput, and Packet Delivery Rate (PDR), used to evaluate the models’ performance.