Network Layer Multi-Connectivity for Increased Resilience in Wireless Multi-Hop Networks

Node and link failures in harsh industrial environments diminish the reliability of multi-hop wireless networks. Multi-Connectivity offers a solution by leveraging multiple communication paths and exploiting path diversity. However, existing MC approaches often lack efficient multi-path and multi-radio path selection in multi-hop scenarios. Therefore, this work proposes an innovative network layer MC routing protocol that combines multi-path and multi-radio selection using a dynamic source routing-inspired mechanism and link-transparent routing based on Node IDs. This decoupling of routing from link-layer addresses enables diverse end-to-end paths while delegating perhop radio interface selection to individual nodes for local adaptation. Numerical simulations demonstrate improved reliability in the handling of node and link failures compared to single-connectivity routing, with minimal routing overhead in arbitrary network topologies.